This Kind of Situation... I'm Already Used to It

"Konaya, everyone~! The Church's kind teacher, Utsumi Ayaka, is here!"

I nearly keeled over from the lack of a framed support message from Nacchan—that perfectly legal drug—but I managed to stay upright by scrolling through old Misscode DMs on my phone. Miss Utsumi was staring at me from behind like I'd lost my mind, but that was fine. Better than coming all this way only to fail at the offline collab entirely.

"Now then, Miss Izumi."

"Uh, um, er.... Ko-Konzumi.... Atmosphere maker, I-Izumi here...."

"Wooow~. To think my first collab with Miss Izumi would be an offline one. Teacher is incredibly moved!"

"Well, I won't deny it. I like Miss Izumi."

"Hwuh?"

I flinched and looked to the side. Miss Utsumi was beaming. I'd already heard what she meant while we were eating yakiniku and talking, but even so, I never thought she'd say it this bluntly.

The chat, of course, went up in flames. Miss Utsumi watched the reaction, then shot me a thumbs-up. That DM she'd sent—I wanna do Ayazumi teetee!—had been completely sincere.

"So what I'm saying is, I'm just so happy we get to do an offline collab like this!"

"I was l-looking forward to it too...."

"Good, then! Honestly, I was starting to wonder if you were avoiding me."

"...Eh?"

What is this. I feel like the last Dotsumachi went exactly the same way....

"We never collabed, and I was always the one starting our DMs."

"Th-that's...."

"You have no idea how much it hurt, watching Shiroki no Umi...."

"Well, everyone says the DMs are the same with other people too, and we ended up doing an offline collab anyway, so it doesn't matter!"

"Then, just like we announced, shall we read some Mycarongs!"

"...Sure."

The chat was already on fire, but neither Miss Utsumi nor I really reacted. For me, this kind of situation... was already familiar.

"Konaya!"

"Konzumi...."

The first Mycarong was a pretty safe question. Miss Utsumi had picked all of them, so I had no idea what was coming, but she wouldn't have chosen anything weird. Probably.

"Good points, huh.... Want to go first, Miss Izumi?"

"Uh, um. Sh-should I?"

Miss Utsumi's good points. There were plenty, but the first thing that came to mind when I was asked was, of course, that.

"...Y-your chest is big."

"Eh?!"

Miss Utsumi glanced around as if flustered, and the chat was in an uproar. But I could say it proudly one more time. A big chest was one of Miss Utsumi's good points...! The long brown ombre hair and that soft impression certainly stood out, but nothing stood out quite like a chest of that incredible size.

"I-I couldn't understand it last time either.... Saying someone's chest is b-big is a compliment, isn't it? Why is everyone scolding me...?"

The way being tall is a compliment for a man, a big chest is a compliment for a woman. So why was this turning into a story where I was the one who'd done something wrong? I couldn't understand it.

"I... don't mind...."

"But your chest is pretty big too, isn't it? Teacher saw it, you know? That elbow clip of yours."

"...Uh."

"It looks big even at a glance."

"S-sexual harassment of a genmate is bad...."

"I'm a p-pretty-girl JK, so it's fine...."

I'd said it before: a pretty-girl JK is a treasure of all humanity, so ordinary things like this aren't crimes.

"...Well, let's leave it at that. Then, any good points besides the big chest?"

"Y-you're kind... and energetic?"

The latter was a burden on me, but objectively it was clearly a good point.

"Hehe.... Hearing that from you puts me in a good mood."

"Hehe...."

"All right, my turn then? If we're talking about your good points, it's that you're cute, right?"

Well, obviously. I was a bona fide gender-bent pretty girl. No matter how much my mental age belonged to a sturdy man in his forties, my looks could only be called humanity's greatest pretty girl.

"I'm not just talking about looks. Your personality is incredibly cute too. Yeah. It makes this urge to cherish you well up, and it stirs my maternal instincts. Like I shouldn't leave you on your own?"

"...I-I'm a proper h-high school student, though."

"And also how you know where you fall short, and work hard at it...."

I tried a timid protest against an evaluation that didn't suit me in the slightest, but no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠answer came back from Miss Utsumi.

"Well, if I started listing your good points I could talk for over an hour, but shall we stop here and move on to the next Mycarong?"

"...Sure."

Miss Utsumi really was a formidable opponent....

"Konaya!"

"Konzumi...."

"Good points. Shall I go first this time? The best part is that I can comfortably do what I want, right? If there's something I want to do, the company supports me a lot."

That really was one of StarsFlow's enormous advantages. Corporate VTubers were stable, but they came with far more restrictions than indie VTubers. StarsFlow had relatively few of those restrictions, and when a member wanted something, the company did its best to meet them there. Even in my own case, they hadn't made the slightest issue of the fact that I hadn't even started lessons for over half a year.

"And if there's another good point... it's that there are so many cute members like this, right?"

"Eek...!"

Miss Utsumi's sudden touch sent a shiver up my back. I'm not about to get devoured today, am I...?

"All right, then what about you, Miss Izumi?"

Contrary to that fear, she let go almost at once and carried on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a bright smile.

"Mmm.... I think it's... th-that I gained confidence...."

My past-life memories, and the shyness I had now. Mixed together, my confidence had once hit absolute bottom. But after I started streaming and talked so much with the members and the Iztomo, I could feel that confidence growing, little by little. Because of it, I could greet my classmates naturally at school now. I could even do an offline collab with Miss Utsumi like this. More than anything, I'd managed to clear Arcana Shooter: Purgatory, and ST's Cerberus, on attitude alone. If streaming hadn't given me confidence, none of that would ever have been possible.

"Yeah.... I really think that's the b-best part."

"Hehe...."

Somehow, about an hour had passed since the stream began.

"All right, then this is the last Mycarong we prepared for today!"

And the last Mycarong said:

"...Th-this feels like a Mycarong with some ulterior motives."

"Correct! Teacher picked this Mycarong because I want to call you Izumi!"

Well, fair. Miss Koga and Miss Akabane already called me Izumi now, so from Miss Utsumi's side it might feel like she was being left out. Miss Aki had called everyone by their given names from the very start.

"So, is it okay?!"

"Ah, I-I don't mind."

"Yaaay~! I'm counting on you from now on, Izumi!"

"I-I'm counting on you too, Miss Utsumi...."

"All right, that's it for today's stream! Bye, everyone~. You'd better come to the next class too!"

"S-see you next time...."

"Good work, Mitchi."

"Thank you for your hard work...."

A chat stream I already had no confidence in, plus an offline collab on top of it, and my mental energy was already at rock bottom. I wanted to do nothing and just rest....

"You said you were staying over tonight, right?"

"Yes...."

I was exhausted as it was, and dragging myself around for nearly another hour would be too much. So I'd decided to just sleep at Miss Utsumi's, eat lunch with her tomorrow, and head home after.

"All right, then now...."

Ding-dong!

Just as Miss Utsumi started to speak, the doorbell rang through the apartment.

"I'll be right back."

"Okay...."

She'd said she lived alone, so it wouldn't be family.... Then who would it be at this hour? I was still turning that over when a commotion drifted in from outside.

"...You actually came?"

"...How is she. ...I'm going in."

And yet the voices were somehow familiar....

"Haa...."

Miss Utsumi walked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back in on a sigh.

And behind her—

"Hey, Izumi."

Miss Koga was standing there.