Friends Are a Serious Matter for an Outcast

"Then shall we start by hearing what everyone in the 2nd Generation has to say about monetization, and your resolve from here on? Nekoto, if you'd begin!"

M let the fact that I had bitten my tongue in the middle of my introduction slide past with perfect ease.

The chat, of course, was still in an uproar over it, and even Miss Koga seemed to be radiating worry—but a broadcast could hardly grind to a halt over something as small as a bitten tongue.

Was this the seasoned poise of a working adult?

A whole different league from a counterfeit forty-year-old like me.

"Mmm. Servants who watch kindly, even when you can barely tell what this broadcast is... I'm so, so grateful to all of you. Please keep looking after me...."

Miss Aki, ears atop her head giving a drowsy little twitch as she spoke, was honestly adorable. Was this the sight that had turned them into Servants? I felt as if I could almost understand.

"Then the turn falls to this body! Monetization is merely the beginning! A world soon to be dyed crimson draws near, so Familiars, rouse a little more of your strength for this body's sake!"

Miss Akabane—I'd thought it last time, too, but wasn't her RP absurdly good? Matching the avatar was one thing, but to toss out lines like that without a flicker of shame, and so easily... incredible. She hadn't really given off that feeling when I'd seen her in person. And the Familiars took it all in stride. The Iztomo, meanwhile, were nothing but people looking for any excuse to tease me....

"I think the only reason someone as lacking as I am can keep trying this hard is because all of you are here. So please keep cheering for me!"

Utsumi Mama....

"Stars Flow is a wonderful chance I've been given, so I'm going to keep working hard! I want to be praised lots and lots from now on, after all!"

Everyone, that person right there is my friend. There's a saying, isn't there? Like calls to like. Which means that I, the friend of the amazing Miss Koga, am an amazing person. You all think so too, don't you? I know you do.

"All right, then last of all—Miss Izumi!"

"Uh, um...."

So what, exactly, was I supposed to say? Honest was best, wasn't it? Just deliver my ambitions for the road ahead.

"G-going forward, I'll s-stream as hard as I can, with as f-few Calamities as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠possible. Th-thank you, everyone, always...."

"Hey!"

I was pretty sure I'd said something incredibly nice. Wasn't this way too cruel?

"Today's collab segment is an association game!"

An association game? For a second the other meaning snagged in my head—the one about people older than you. But I was the youngest of my genmates, at least for now.

"...Hehe."

The chat marked my sudden laugh with pure confusion, but M and my genmates didn't react at all. Thank goodness. If anyone had asked why I'd laughed, I would have had to admit I'd been giggling over a gag like that, wouldn't I? And if the mood went cold over it, I'd have no choice but to take responsibility and graduate....

"You listen to the prompt I give, and answer honestly with the very first thing that comes to mind."

As she said it, M sent a link to my Misscode DMs. I opened it, and a pure white whiteboard filled my monitor. On the broadcast, too, a whiteboard had appeared at some point in front of our avatars. Write something here, it seemed, and it would sync straight onto the board on stream.

"All right, first prompt! Write your first impressions of your genmates! You have one minute!"

"...."

...What? They called this tame? These people had no idea how terrifying the question was.

I knew. The "first impression" they were asking for was not something you could write with your guard all the way down. Even if you had thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠poorly of someone, you had to dress the answer up as prettily as you could. Write the flaws down in full honesty, and I would surely lose even Miss Koga—the first friend I had ever made. One slip, and everything could vanish. It was a high-difficulty problem, and it forced you to walk the line between truth and lie.

Whew. Thank goodness I was a loner-loser with a fairly quick eye for danger. That was how I'd spotted the trap immediately.

All right. Think. What had my first impressions of my genmates actually been?

...Now that I thought about it, I was pretty sure I'd liked every one of them. They were pretty, they were cute, and they were kind enough not to openly avoid me even after seeing that I couldn't mesh with anyone. So I could write all of it honestly, then?

"All right, we'll reveal the whiteboards in order, starting with Nekoto!"

"Mm...."

B-but did I really have to see what the others thought of me? If it said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something like a loner I don't want to hang out with, I might actually get hurt. Then again, it was true that I was a loner with a communication disorder, so in the end I'd just cry by myself and graduate, wouldn't I? And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Miss Koga, looking at me like that, would click her tongue and sneer—figures, that one's a lost cause....

"What Nekoto wrote is this...."

"...What does that mean?"

Like Miss Utsumi, I couldn't make sense of the numbers she'd written, and tilted my head. Why was three missing?

"The order of who seemed grown-up when I first saw them. Ayaka is the most adult. Izumi is second. Nekoto is third. Yukari is fourth. Suzuha is fifth."

"Aha!"

"Indeed. That tracks."

"This is not an 'aha' moment, thank you?! I'm the oldest one here?!"

"When Izumi is quiet, she's incredibly grown-up. Pure."

Unexpectedly, I was getting a high mark from Miss Aki. Something in my chest went light.

"Hehehe...."

"And when I watch Izumi talk on stream... I think she's cute."

"Mm. There is certainly that feeling."

"A little like watching a pet, isn't it?"

"Ah, I think I get it."

...Huh?

Wasn't the way they were treating me a little off? Or was it not? Was a pet that was at least fun to watch better than a loner with a communication disorder who couldn't even socialize properly? But didn't the second option raise a few problems where human dignity was concerned?

"Th-thank you?"

Still, it seemed like a compliment for the moment, so I decided to take it in a positive spirit.

"Then this time the turn is mine. This body wrote this."

"Not big sister—subordinate. That's so you, Yukari."

"Sorry, but Nekoto doesn't go under anyone...."

"Rival? Is that a good thing?"

"But of course. Consider what a tremendous honor it is, to be capable of standing against this body."

...I was Miss Akabane's master? Why on earth?

"W-why am I M-Miss Akabane's m-master?"

"...Because from the very beginning, this body believed you would bring a great storm upon this VTuber world. And so I thought I ought to learn a thing or two."

"However, our directions seemed far too different, so this body gave up. The topic at present is first impressions, and so I merely wrote what I felt."

"I-I see."

W-wait a second. Didn't that mean there was nothing left worth studying in me? Well, yeah. What could a loner like me possibly have to teach in the first place....

"Well. I still believe there are things worth learning by watching. As I said before, though, our directions differ somewhat."

There were! Thank goodness!

"My turn now, right? Tadaaa~ ta-da!"

"Miss Ayaka. I'll say it again—I am older than you, you know?"

"But it's a first impression, just like Yukari said~. That's simply how it felt at the start, so it can't be helped!"

"Hey. Rebellious little sister. What is the meaning of this."

"Yukari's been snippy with me ever since our first collab, hasn't she? Accurate, no?"

"Mmm. At home, Nekoto is the big sister. Not a little sister."

"Then Nekoto's little sister counts as my little sister too!"

"E-everyone else is a little sister, and I'm the only d-daughter...."

Was this... special treatment? At those words, carrying the question with them, Miss Utsumi's avatar suddenly looked at me with sparkling eyes.

"The moment I first saw Miss Izumi, I felt something like... a maternal urge to cherish you? If I had to compare, it's similar with Yukari, but with Yukari the feeling that she'd be fine left on her own is stronger."

I can do just fine left on my own too, Mom.

No—being alone is more comfortable in the first place!

But if a mom like Miss Utsumi looked after me, that might be nice in its own way...?

Gasp. Then would Miss Utsumi become my mom's wife?

Waaah.

"Then it's my turn now."

And at last, Miss Koga's turn arrived. If my first impression on her had been a bad one, I might actually die.... She was my first friend, so of course I wanted the first impression to be good, too. First impressions are only first impressions, and the more you know someone the more you might come to like them and grow close? That logic only works for people who already have piles of friends, so kindly get it through your head....

"Indeed, this body is aware that I am a professional, and so I always conduct myself professionally. You saw right through me. As expected of the one this body has acknowledged as a rival."

"N-natural?"

"Cheeky?! That's far too harsh a thing to say to your big sister!"

"Miss Ayaka?"

"I'm sorry...."

"I remembered the name of the person who just brought up looks!"

"...."

While everyone else chattered happily on the broadcast, I alone couldn't get a single word out. And how could I? My eyes were fixed on nothing but the words Miss Koga had written.

"Haa...."

What a relief. If it had said anything like hard to talk to, I really might have cried. Of course it was true that I couldn't hold a conversation—but sometimes the facts were exactly what wounded a person.

That aside, wanting to g-get close to someone like me. Miss Koga really was an archangel.