Why Won't the Viewers Drop?

It still feels weird no matter how I think about it. Why won't the 23,000 viewers drop? Of course, it's dropped a lot compared to when hundreds of thousands were watching... but I wish it would drop even more. If other people heard me, they'd say I'm complaining about being full, but I'd be happy if it just fell to a few thousand. If it drops any lower, that'd be perfect. I guess I have to open the chat window now. I've had it frozen for nearly a month, so honestly, keeping it that way any longer would be going too far. I'm starting to want to see viewers chatting too.

For the past month, I'd only done racing streams for about three days before abandoning them, and after that I'd just been grinding the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series nonstop. I'd even done a full playthrough from 8 all the way to 14. And still, they won't leave.

"These stubborn people..."

Well, nothing I can do about it. If I keep streaming, the ones who are going to leave will leave, and the ones who are staying will stay. I'm not going to worry about it anymore. So, for the first time in a while, it's a normal low-chat stream.

The moment I opened the chat, everyone started venting the frustration they'd been holding in. Maybe I should just watch for a bit? From their perspective, it's been a month... no, for most of them this is probably their first time chatting in my stream, right? Oh... yeah ;; Since I froze it right after coming back, the messages coming up now are their first chats...

Thinking about it that way makes me feel a little... sorry?

"Hey... guys? You know that what you're posting right now is your first chat in my stream, right?"

"Hey now~ Controversy, my foot. Watch your words. It was just a minor incident.. okay?"

"And I didn't forget. It was more like... expressing my will to kick you all out somehow.... something like that. Probably?"

"Hmm.... hmm...."

"Still, it's nice to finally talk with people while looking at the chat again. Hehe."

It really does feel good. While I'd been playing games alone and talking to myself, I'd started wondering "What am I even doing right now?" and the reality check had hit hard. But now that I can see people reacting to my words and communicating with me, the self-loathing that had been building up quietly melts away.

I guess I really am a streamer after all. Doing a stream that actually feels like a stream makes me this happy.

After the day the viewers and I came to our own little agreement(?), I'd tried to go along with what they wanted for a while. It only made sense—I'd neglected them for so long, after all. I had to make it up to them somehow.

There were a lot of requests for racing games in particular, but even those quieted down once I played them a bit. So lately, I'd been getting ready to bring out something I'd prepared.

During my "vacation"(?), I hadn't just watched anime. I'd also prepared something to do together with the viewers later. There are quite a few people, but... that can't be helped.

After spending a few days gauging the right moment, I figured it was time to bring it up.

"You guys are really making a fuss over one little thing..."

While waiting for more viewers to join, I spent some time bantering with the early arrivals. Alright, time to start.

"Okay. As you can see from the title, I have something to announce today."

"I did not cause an accident. I'm not ending the stream either. Tsk~. Don't say weird things."

"I'm planning to open a Minecraft server soon."

"It'll be open to viewers. Since it's my personal server, it'll be open 24 hours."

The chat exploded at that. The early members and current managers had done it a few times before, but for most of the current viewers, this would be their first time joining a viewer-participation event.

"I'll upload the instructions and files to the cafe, so you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can check those."

"The server will open this Friday at 7 PM, two days from now."

"Due to server capacity, not everyone will be able to join at once. Still, I've made it so as many people as possible can enjoy it, so I hope we can all have fun together."

"That's all. Announcement over."

Questions flooded in the moment I finished. How many concurrent players? How long will it stay up? Are you inviting other streamers? While answering what I could, I temporarily banned anyone asking questions that hurt my feelings.

After explaining for a long time, the flood of questions finally died down.

"Whew... I'm exhausted. That's it for today's stream."

"See you tomorrow~. Bye~"

...I'm tired. Answering questions, then answering more questions, and more, and more... Doing that for an hour and a half nearly killed me.

"Sigh... Maybe I shouldn't have done this?"

A bit of regret crept in, but I'd already decided to go through with it. Might as well have fun and get my money's worth. Ah... how am I supposed to wait until Friday?