Nostalgia Isn't Exclusive to Those Who Have a Hometown

"I've come fully prepared to answer every single thing you're curious about! So today, please look forward to a whole lot, okay?"

Declaring as much toward the camera, I put on a confident expression as if I had nothing to hide.

Of course, while the outside looked convincing enough, inside I was dizzy with a whirlwind of emotions.

Anyway, before moving into the situation I'd prepared for, there was a brief window of free time. I casually glanced at the chat window floating on the screen and thought to myself.

Still, it's a relief I was able to seize the atmosphere to some degree with the yoga performance. All that rushed practice paid off.

A kind of shock therapy—using yoga to seize the mood and take the initiative. This strategy I'd carefully designed before the stream seemed to have gone off successfully. After all, the chat that had been on the verge of descending into chaos had settled down as if nothing had happened, all thanks to the performance I'd just put on.

Yoga was good. Even I would've forgotten to type in chat if Nia suddenly started doing handstands in 3D and pulled off something like a scorpion pose. Perfectly understandable.

But some of the viewers were still raising doubts. There were those demanding a detailed explanation because they couldn't find it online, and those who looked at everything with a negative eye. It seemed like something I ought to address at least once.

"Well, it's not that strange for something not to be on the internet. This is data I salvaged myself. The details, I'll explain during the Q&A later. We've still got plenty of time today!"

"Heh heh heh…. Curious, are you? I've prepared for that question too, so if you want to know, don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leave—take a seat! I'll give you a nice, clear answer!"

I answered the doubts rising in the chat that way, then drew a deep breath and adjusted my tempo.

I was still close to a newbie when it came to internet streaming, so I didn't exactly have deep expertise—but even I knew that charging headlong into the main topic without any buildup wasn't a good idea. That was the kind of thing you did at a hearing or on the news.

What I'm doing is an internet broadcast—a live stream. What matters is communication, and the back-and-forth.

The point was that I had to give the viewers something fun. Of course, as an ultra-gorgeous beautiful girl, I could still deliver satisfaction just by standing on screen—but growing a stream that way had its limits. So what I needed to do right now was crystal clear. Namely… planting anticipation in the viewers!

"Alright then. Before we properly start the Q&A, how about I sing a song real quick?"

"Of course! …is what I'd love to say, but hehe, I haven't really practiced properly for long. Still, my tone is nice at least, so it shouldn't be unlistenable… right?"

Shifting my gaze just enough not to be obvious, I checked the viewer count and could tell that ever since I'd suddenly started the yoga, new viewers had been pouring in steadily. In that case, it would be best to gather as many people as possible before starting the main event—the Q&A. And so I chose a song as the means. What else crossed eras, nations, and cultures quite like music?

"Ahem, all this expectation is almost more than I can handle. …Ah, right. Does anyone notice the camera and mic looking a little different from last stream?"

"What a relief. I upgraded them after a lot of deliberation. I was worried it wouldn't make any difference…. Anyway! One song, coming up!"

Answering the fairly friendly chat that way, I brought out an instrument I'd hidden under the desk.

I'd practiced guitar for a very short while once upon a time. But I couldn't actually Create a guitar. Producing one with even the bare minimum quality my standards would allow required hundreds of thousands of CP. Without the CP to make it, I'd had no choice but to give up. So what I'd made as a substitute was this: a ukulele.

"It's a song that vanished after the Great War, but I hope you'll enjoy listening. Take Me Home, Country Roads."

I plucked the cheap nylon-string ukulele, and a clumsy sound came out. To think something like this ate up tens of thousands of CP—why were instruments so expensive to Create?

Still, seeing people enjoy it made me feel good. I was glad I'd practiced. Really.

Strum.

I cleanly struck a G chord on the ukulele and brought the song to a close. Apparently Nia's outstanding physical ability extended even to her fingers—I could form the chords naturally, without the slightest strain.

…The song had finished safely, but I couldn't bring myself to look at the chat right away. What kind of reaction were people having? I didn't have the courage to face it head-on. So I simply dipped my head toward the camera in a small bow.

"Um…. Th-thank you."

My heart was thudding and tumbling around inside my body, and the tip of my tongue felt parched dry. Wow—this might have been the first time I'd ever sung in front of people. I was ridiculously nervous. At least I hadn't stumbled mid-song or botched the playing, which was a relief…. But for my whole body to go tingly just from singing one song—apparently I had zero talent for this sort of thing.

"Whew, I got a little nervous…. Did you enjoy it? That was John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. A representative country song released in the seventies… ah, the 1970s. A classic beloved by countless people."

Come to think of it, at this point in time it was a song more than a hundred years old. Thanks to the war's aftermath, the cultural gap between this place and the world I'd lived in hadn't actually grown that wide. I'd prepared it with a casual thought of, they'll probably like it… But yeah—I still couldn't work up the courage to look at the chat.

Whew. Even so, I couldn't keep cutting off communication forever. You weren't supposed to look away from reality. I swallowed hard, shoved my feelings down, and carefully glanced at the chat window where messages were pouring in.

Huh. An unexpected reaction. I hadn't thought the praise would be this one-sided. Of course I liked the song a lot myself, but wasn't the track itself on the somewhat plain side? I'd even sung it with almost no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠accompaniment….

Ah. Maybe it's because this song touches on nostalgia? People in this world are a bit soft when it comes to that sort of thing.

Homesickness. Or nostalgia. It was an expression for longing for one's hometown from a far-off place—and one of the emotions shared in common by the people living in this world. Completely cut ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off from the past world by the aftermath of the Great War, humanity had ultimately forgotten its own history. The desire to know one's roots rising up in them was perhaps only natural.

Homesickness and nostalgia. This…. I was starting to get a rough sense of which direction I ought to aim for with my streams.

Hah, that aside—I'm really glad. The song choice went over well. Now, current viewers…. Eh? Five thousand?!

I barely managed to plant strength in my toes and hold down a body that wanted to bounce right off the floor. No matter how thoroughly I'd laid the groundwork, I hadn't expected to already surpass the peak viewership of my debut stream. Come to think of it, I'd noticed the amount of CP coming in from chat steadily increasing—so that was because more people were watching.

"Ahem, I'm glad the response is good. In that case, riding the momentum, one more song! …is what I'd love to say, but…. I haven't practiced anything for the next one yet."

"Ah, that's right. There are plenty of songs. The twenty-first century I was active in had so many good ones. And yes, I salvaged this one myself. You want the chords shared? I'll post them on the board after the stream."

This particular one wasn't something I'd picked up from a scrap heap—it had simply been in my head from the start. But recalling it was essentially the same as salvaging it from inside my mind, so it hardly mattered. Oh—was this the reincarnator cheat? Not a bad deal at all.

"Well then…. The mood's warmed up nicely, so shall we get to the main event?"

The ukulele portion ended here. I casually ushered it off-screen and shifted my gaze as if looking into the eyes of the viewers beyond the camera. Then, smiling as if to say listen carefully toward those who still harbored plenty of suspicion, I spoke.

"Q and A! Ask Nia anything! …time has arrived!"

Whether I win or you win—let's give it a shot.

I put on an expression full of confidence. Singing had been fairly terrifying, but this was fine. I was in a far more advantageous position to begin with, wasn't I? If I hesitated out of fear here, there was nothing to gain.