It’s Fine as Long as You Cross Dimensions
Just do it with 100 people.
Wouldn't that work....
“....”
DoDa’s voice was so dry it could have crumbled.
The true DoDa whales all began to buzz at once. They were too shaken to even care about the oddly suggestive tone.
...
...
...
Whisper, whisper.
Shiver, shiver.
To those malicious old whales in earnest, a 100-to-1 penalty was nothing more than an excuse. They just wanted to play with DoDa a little longer. But what came back was a bean-sprout steamer.
DoDa snickered as she watched the sickly, weak whales suffering deep inside.
“Heh heh! No! Why are you twisting my words? Just listen to me until the end. Ah, and thank you for the donation! Everyone, let’s calm down and shake our heads, okay?”
Shake.
Shake.
Shake.
DoDa’s signature thank-you head shake made a dazzling appearance. But even as she shook her head, the whales remained restless.
“No, wait...!”
The chat window filled with crying-face emotes.
It became a literal sea of tears, waves rolling and breaking.
Uuuugh.
Huuuh.
Heeeeh.
It felt like someone had gathered up the social-media accounts of delinquent schoolgirls and dumped them all into one place. Average age: thirty-one, discharged, schoolgirls in spirit, crying pathetically.
DoDa cackled and tried to rein them in.
“Seriously, stop crying!”
For the old men who usually acted like absolute trash, seeing them all turn into a group menhera was a rare treat. Thanks to that, the newcomers were cackling too.
And after that mass-menhera display from the old men, they started thinking about a game everyone could enjoy with 100 people.
Then the old men’s ears got just as honest.
Giggle giggle.
Giggle giggle.
The old men started acting cute again, like babies.
“....”
DoDa watched that brainstorm with a pleased expression and said, “For now, the games I’m considering are Fall Guys and Shuttle Ground, but honestly, it’s not hard to just play games. I wouldn’t mind doing it with 100 people all night long.”
The whales cheered.
Their long-lost shamelessness came back to life.
But DoDa went on with a sigh.
“But this is just a simple game. Compared to a ‘Big Plan,’ it feels too small, so I’m worried. At first I thought it’d be easy, silly, fun spending, but after seeing Clara unnie’s plan, even the prizes feel kind of lacking.”
“I’m thinking, for first through tenth place, maybe hotel vouchers, gaming PCs, graphics cards, or smartphones. Even then, I probably won’t use up half the budget assigned to me.”
...
...
...
The chat window kept running wild without end.
The whales trembled after hearing that hotel vouchers, gaming PCs, graphics cards, and smartphones would all be up for grabs as prizes.
Even so, DoDa’s worries weren’t over.
“Phew. It’s not as convincing as Clara unnie’s plan, so I’m kind of self-conscious.... I’m thinking maybe I should go to the company tomorrow and ask if it’s okay to just do this.”
The newcomers were excited and talking nonsense, but the true DoDa whales felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
And then.
Their hunch was right on the money.
To the worried priestess, divine approval came down without ambiguity.
...
...
...
The chat exploded again.
They shouted Bigman over and over, cheering with all their lungs.
God had said to do whatever they wanted.
“....”
DoDa quietly closed her eyes.
Then she folded her arms and cried out reverently, “Bigman—”
But honestly, doesn’t my plan feel too small in scale?
As a believer in Bigman,
she wanted to make something big.
Not just a simple viewer-participation game....
“A big event.”
*
On a lazy Sunday, at the convenience store.
I finished watching DoDa’s Sunday stream all the way through and stepped out to the outdoor table. I also took a few apples from the fruit basket in the storage room.
After picking only as many as I wanted to eat,
I started peeling them while waiting for Ahyoung.
“....”
Slice.
Slice.
The apple skin curled away in a lively little dance.
Peeling apples in silence brought back memories of when I’d worked as a bar employee in one of the loops. A life where day and night were reversed wore out both body and mind.
At least when the loop reset, my body went back to normal, so I slept fine in the next loop.
Crack.
For a second, the knife nearly nicked my finger.
“....”
Sure enough, once you crossed a loop, there were always technical mistakes.
“....”
I stopped thinking about it any further.
I focused on cutting the apples into easy-to-eat pieces.
Slice.
Slice.
When the sun hung over the horizon packed with apartment buildings, I heard light footsteps of a woman approaching from afar.
“Huh? Eh—?!”
“....”
“Manager—! Hello—!”
“Hello.”
“Huh? You peeled apples?”
“Yes, help yourself.”
“Thank you!”
Ahyoung took an apple without the slightest suspicion and started eating it. With a crisp bite, she flailed in delight.
“Wow! This is really good!”
“Yes, take as much as you want.”
“Okay!”
She really did start wolfing them down, packing her cheeks full like a hamster.
What if she chokes doing that?
But unlike my worries,
she chewed expertly and swallowed without trouble.
“It’s delicious!”
“I’m glad.”
“More, please!”
“Please wait a moment.”
I took a few more apples from the basket. Then I washed them at the tap and started peeling them just like before.
Slice.
Slice.
“....”
“....”
At the sense of another presence,
I lifted my head and looked ahead.
“....”
“Hehe.”
Ahyoung didn’t go inside the convenience store. She sat beside me instead, watching with a satisfied smile. Her grin lived and breathed beneath the baseball cap.
Did something good happen?
I lowered my head again,
and went back to peeling apples.
Slice.
Slice.
“It’s done.”
“!”
I finished peeling all the apples neatly.
I handed over the plate holding them. Ahyoung smiled bashfully and started picking them up one by one to eat. In the quiet in front of the Han River park, the only thing you could hear was the sound of apples being chewed.
Crunch.
Crunch.
And so the quiet time passed.
At some point, Ahyoung spoke up.
Her tone was shy, even a little embarrassed.
“M-Ma’am... manager.”
“Yes.”
“Your attitude is exactly the same.”
“?”
“Even after I told you yesterday that I’m a VTuber.”
“Ah.”
I nodded.
“You’re still Ahyoung, after all. Just like you don’t need to keep up a broadcaster persona offstage, I’ll just treat you as ‘Ahyoung.’”
“Is that so.”
“Yes.”
“....”
Ahyoung lowered her head.
Then she asked what she really wanted to ask.
“Managerrr. I’m happy about that, but...”
“Yes.”
“What about that T-shirt...?”
“Ah, this?”
I pinched the hem of the shirt I was wearing.
On the outside of the yellow T-shirt, a simple font spelled out A, and there was a sparkling smile from the beautiful VTuber idol Aki-chan.
It was a beautiful smile.
“When I took it out after receiving it yesterday, I saw the quality was excellent. I guess the company really put effort into it. I wore it once to check the size, and it fit perfectly, so I’ve just kept wearing it.”
“....”
“The illustration of the VTuber Aki-chan was printed wonderfully too. They did a delicate job of editing the lively part of her smile, and it really stands out.”
“....”
“Even after wearing it for two days straight, I didn’t feel any discomfort. Thank you for the lovely gift.”
“....”
Ahyoung opened and closed her mouth a few times, then buried her face in her hands.
“...This is bullying.”
“No.”
“This is bullying.”
“Is that so.”
“It really is bullying!”
“I see.”
“Aaaagh—!!”
With a dissatisfied face, Ahyoung slapped my back. A sharp pain shot through me. So she really did work out; her hand had more sting than I expected.
“....”
Hm.
I’d only worn it because it was comfortable and well-made.
Well, I accepted it from her and wore it proudly in support of her. But offstage, I guess that’s a bit much for her.
That made sense.
As I headed up to the rooftop room, I said, “Then I’ll go change.”
“Okay....”
A little while later.
I was sitting blankly outside with Ahyoung.
Of course, I’d changed out of the T-shirt.
“....”
“....”
Sitting here like this made me think of DoDa’s stream again.
She seemed to be worrying about how to play with her fans. I’d like her to do whatever she wants, whether it’s the place or anything else, since budget doesn’t matter.
I had answered by breaking the silence in chat, but...
Maybe she needs a clearer hint.
Still, I didn’t want to dictate things as Bigman. I thought it would only mean something if DoDa herself remained the owner of the plan.
Not Bigman, but someone who could leave a new hint in her life....
There was someone sitting right beside me.
“Hm.”
“?”
Ahyoung tilted her head at my side.
At that little presence, I opened my mouth.
“Want to go for a walk?”
“Huh?”