Isn't It Okay for One Cute Virtual Idol Like This to Exist?

Q&A. Question and Answer.

What you might call a Q&A session in plain terms turned out to be far trickier than I'd expected.

Think about it for a moment.

Asking a question, unless it's just small talk, basically means there's something you want to know about that person, right?

Which means… the subject of this Q&A had to be someone who sparked curiosity in at least one person.

The same way nobody bothers asking questions of someone like my past-life self, who nobody even knew existed, or some washed-up celebrity.

In that sense, Nia the Virtual Idol — resurrected across the ages — seemed more than capable of stirring curiosity in a great many people.

After I posted the notice that I'd be doing a Q&A stream, the questions that piled up on the board alone… numbered well over several hundred!

But realistically, there was no way I could answer all of them.

Some questions overlapped, and more than a few were so low-quality they made me pull a face that said, Do I really have to answer this?

Especially that little punk who asked whether a Virtual Lifeform could have kids…. You're permanently banned! How could you even—!

…Well, setting that sort of thing aside, the biggest problem was still time.

Q&As were fine. Fun, even. Digging through my memories, I could recall sitting through every one of them whenever Nia did those special anniversary streams.

But I still hadn't properly built any emotional rapport with my viewers. Jumping into something like that too early simply wasn't an option.

If I'm not careful, I could end up dumping TMI nobody asked for. That would be a terrible direction for a stream that's currently riding a wave of hype.

So the limit I set for myself on this Q&A was exactly one hour.

My calculation was that if it ran any longer, the viewers would get tired first and start dropping off.

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Which meant… what mattered most right now wasn't the quality of the answers so much as the quality of the questions.

Picking the ones people were genuinely curious about, then cutting through them with wit.

That was what I needed to do.

First, maybe I should go change. I can't do main content dressed in gym clothes.

I asked the viewers for a moment of patience, stepped away from the camera, and hurriedly swapped out of my thin gym wear into my default outfit.

The pure white uniform still didn't feel familiar. But if I was going to live as Nia, this was something I'd eventually have to get used to.

I stared blankly at Nia's reflection in the mirror, let out a small sigh, and steeled myself.

Let's do this well. Don't get too tense.

Whispering that little vow to myself, I returned to the computer with the camera and spoke to the viewers.

"Well then…. Before we start the Q&A, shall we change the background a little?"

Snap!

I held a vivid image in my mind and flicked my fingers with a light, crisp sound.

CP drained away, a flash of light burst out, and a green wall appeared behind me.

A smooth, dull green surface without a single scratch. That wall was a chalkboard I'd made with my Creation ability.

I'd shaped a base out of styrofoam and layered a thin sheet of green terracotta over it like a coating.

It only looks the part — cheap stuff you couldn't actually write on for real…. But for the presentation, this is more than enough.

Besides, it looked cool. Changing the background with a finger snap. I'd always wanted to try that.

Of course, I hadn't actually moved locations — I'd just raised a thin wall behind me.

But from the viewers' perspective, there would have been a flash of light and the sudden sensation that the whole place had changed.

"Editing? Magic? No. I actually changed the background. As I introduced myself at the start, I'm a genuine Virtual Lifeform, through and through. This much is nothing."

I hadn't lied. It wasn't editing and it wasn't magic — I'd simply created a wall.

Of course, all I'd done was quietly raise a wall in my studio apartment so the bed wouldn't show, so it was a bit of sleight of hand….

But I hadn't denied that, so — safe. Anyway, safe.

"As announced, for this Q&A I've selected about ten questions from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the ones you posted on the board. If we have time left, I'll take questions from chat as well."

I watched the viewers' positive reactions carefully, then slipped from the center of the frame off to the side.

I gave the camera a slightly sheepish smile, then walked steadily toward the opposite side.

And remarkably, as I passed, letters began to etch themselves onto the chalkboard behind me!

The screen was probably filled with the sight of pure white letters forming sentences across the chalkboard just like that.

How could simply walking past write the text? The principle was simple.

I'd planned the positions and layout of the letters in advance, then, in the instant my body blocked the chalkboard from view, thinly created white pigment across its surface.

Chalk is just compressed white pigment, after all. So in the end, it's no different from writing with chalk.

Anyway, enough about the presentation. What mattered right now was answering the question.

I cleared my throat lightly, as if warming up my voice, then slowly read the question written on the board.

"Ahem, the first question is this one. Submitted by PIE033. They're curious about what exactly a Virtual Lifeform is."

While my mouth delivered the prepared script, my eyes drifted inconspicuously toward the chat floating on screen.

Fortunately, the overall reaction was that it wasn't a bad first question at all.

Good. Public sentiment seemed to be holding up reasonably well so far.

"So, what is a Virtual Lifeform…."

I paused very briefly, and thought back to when I'd first started calling myself that.

Well, after dying and suddenly becoming the body of my oshi — the Virtual VTuber Nia — I'd checked my condition, realized I didn't seem human, and just casually dubbed myself a Virtual Lifeform.

But if I answered like that…. Would the viewers buy it? Probably not.

So I need to say something else here. A plausible answer that viewers who don't know the circumstances can accept as reasonable.

And a lightly falsified answer that would feel rational to anyone listening was already prepared.

What kind of fool would pick the questions in advance and not think through the answers?

"It's simple. This person who might look human to all of you… is actually not human at all."

I drew a breath here, adjusting the tempo of my words.

Then I answered with a serious expression that no viewer could dismiss as a simple joke.

"I don't get hungry. I don't need sleep. I even possess special abilities that humans can't use. So can someone like me really be called human?"

I cultivated the atmosphere of calmly stating facts, while at the same time carrying myself with a nonchalance that said this wasn't anything particularly extraordinary.

The important thing here was making the other person naturally think, Huh, is that actually true?

Whether it was truth or falsehood, people were animals who thought whatever they wanted to believe.

Touching emotion through reason. The two were inseparable, which made it an extremely efficient method.

"That's why — Virtual. But I feel that I myself am alive, so — Lifeform. Put the two together… and the meaning becomes simple, doesn't it?"

"You there. The one who said 'you expect us to believe that.' And everyone else thinking something similar."

I lifted my head and looked past the camera at the viewers with a strong, unwavering gaze.

"I'm not going to ask you to believe me. That's not something I can resolve through effort — it depends entirely on all of you listening. But…. If there are people who do choose to believe in someone like me, please don't insult them or laugh at them."

Another brief breath here. I recalled the words I'd prepared in advance and steadied my emotions.

What I wanted to say was a request. Not a warning or a caution — a light request that said there was nothing to lose.

So rather than loading it with heavy emotion, I continued in a bright voice that wouldn't leave the listener feeling bad.

Kiraring☆

The moment the words left my mouth, I pressed V-shaped fingers to my cheek with a wink so cute it looked like stars might fly out.

Doing something this blatantly adorable of my own free will made my toes curl on their own.

But… but! It really couldn't be helped!

To neutralize something that had tipped alkaline, you had to add an acidic liquid, right?

To rescue a stream that was plunging into serious, heavy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠territory, you ultimately needed a dose of bright, refreshing charm.

Yeah — an unavoidable fixed expense, in the end. Embarrassing was still embarrassing, though.

"Ahem! Next question! Moving on!"

I absolutely did not have the courage to look at chat right now.

A quick glance at the viewer count showed the numbers holding steady, so the mood didn't seem that bad….

But if even a single mean comment was waiting in there, I felt like the skin stretched over my face would peel right off.

So I hurriedly skipped past the first question and moved from one end of the screen to the other, making the next questions rise onto the chalkboard.

"I'm not sure I understand the intent of this question. A person inside a Virtual Lifeform… what is that? Nia is Nia. I'd appreciate it if you'd understand it that way going forward."

"A company? I was born on the internet on my own and started streaming, you know? …Would be a troublesome answer, wouldn't it? Hehe…. I'm deliberately keeping the details about that salvage company secret. For now, please just understand it that way."

"Detailed personal information about things like my outfit will be gradually posted on the official Olive Nia board. Those of you curious about my info, please keep an eye out for the announcement posts that will go up soon."

About three minutes per question, roughly thirty minutes in total — and at last the prepared Q&A time was over.

From here on, wrapping up by answering questions that came up in chat on the spot would be enough.

I didn't only pick questions that were convenient for me…. I hope they're satisfied with this much.

Thinking that with a drained look, I approached the computer.

Then I casually shifted my gaze to check the viewer count….

And found that the number had grown from five thousand to a full six thousand.

…Is that even possible?

Having been the kind of person who hunted for tiny VTubers before becoming Nia's fan made it hit even harder.

I knew full well this was a number that simply shouldn't exist for a streamer who'd just started.

I supposed you could say hype mattered more than talent after all.

But even in a situation like this, the emotion that rose first wasn't joy so much as worry.

Namely, a vague anxiety ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about whether I could actually hold on to these numbers.

I'd be happy if I could keep even a tenth of them….

…Hah. Talk about being greedy. How many streamers in this world never make it at all?

If I failed in an environment this blessed, there'd be no one to blame but myself.

Put in the work and produce results. Not just hard — well.

I straightened my posture and finished preparing to continue the stream.

The live streaming light was still glowing red. It was far too early to be thinking about anything else.

Take a few more questions here…. Then wrap it up cleanly. That was my immediate goal.