Something Feels Off About Doing Yuri Business With Her (3)
Uni Mori has a strict rule prohibiting collabs for the first month after debut. External collabs are obviously banned, and even collabs between agency members are generally off-limits. It's more like they don't want the first and second generation members dragging the newly debuted third generation around. This is the crucial window for building hype and solidifying their foundations. There's also the matter of protecting their images. However, there's one exception: collabs between third-generation members are unrestricted. Apparently, pairing up fresh faces can showcase sides of them that haven't been seen before. Maybe that's why I've received collab stream offers from other members of my cohort before. Of course, our schedules never quite aligned, so I always found some excuse to politely decline. But to think I'd be the one initiating a collab offer to someone else…
“Nwaaaah! What the hell was yesterday-me thinking?!”
It was Wednesday, the day after Tuesday's trip to the office. While sitting at my computer preparing for the stream, I suddenly clutched my head and groaned in agony. The reason was simple—yesterday's embarrassing behavior had flashed through my mind without warning.
Proposing yuri business. And not just to anyone, but to the princess herself, Serin. It was like flooring the gas pedal to 200 km/h on a road with a 50 km/h speed limit. The situation was even worse because I'd also smashed through streetlights and transformers in the process.
‘I told myself I wouldn't get involved… What exactly do I want to do here…?’
Had some evil spirit briefly possessed me? Maybe instead of preparing for a stream, I should be looking up a famous exorcist. Wait, what if the exorcist ends up ripping out all my memories of my past life? Exorcists are terrifying!
But when I thought back on it, what happened after I declared the yuri business was even more shocking. While glaring at Serin with the full intention of utterly destroying her in the collab stream, she'd suddenly blushed, turned her head slightly, and answered:
“Y-yes…”
“What do you mean ‘y-yes’?! That's not your character at all! You're supposed to be the type who goes ‘fufufu’ and acts all composed! Why are you using polite speech with me when you've never even done it with the president?!”
Honestly, my own face had heated up at that moment too. When someone who never acts like that suddenly does, you can't help but react. If anything, I'm the victim here for having to witness it up close. And worst of all, I'd actually thought she looked cute in that moment. I hated myself for it.
Well, her face being cute was an undeniable fact that no one could argue with. But was doing yuri business with this person really okay? Now that I thought about it again, there seemed to be a problem here!
“Uuuugh, uwaaaah!”
Feeling like my head was about to explode from the chaos, I bolted out of my room and straight to the bathroom. I turned on the coldest water and frantically splashed it on my face with both hands. Maybe it was because the water was cold enough to nearly freeze—my face stung quite a bit. But at least my emotions had calmed down as I gripped the sink and lowered my head. Water droplets rolled down my chin and dripped onto the floor with soft plops.
‘Calm down. This isn't something to get worked up over. Yuri business is just a means to an end.’
The current Serin was wearing a kind of thick mask. If I had to compare, her behavior was closer to how she acted at school rather than at the agency. She stayed perfectly neutral, never leaning toward either side, always giving the most appropriate response to any situation. That was undoubtedly the perfect behavior for a princess—never earning anyone's dislike.
‘But as a VTuber, that's the worst possible approach.’
Put differently, it was simply a lack of personality. Hiding what she liked and disliked, always giving safe, generic answers… It was just too boring. Especially since more than half of Serin's appeal came from that violently beautiful face of hers. It was no wonder her performance as a VTuber had been lackluster. Her unhinged, screw-loose behavior at the agency would probably be ten or a hundred times more entertaining. A character who claims she's perfect no matter what she does, with nothing but excessive self-confidence? Honestly, how could anyone not laugh at that? Though from the perspective of someone being tormented by it, it would be incredibly annoying.
So when I made that proposal to her, it wasn't because I had any ulterior motives. I simply thought it would be the most effective way to shatter the mask she was wearing. Even though I called it yuri business, it was really just me slipping a weapon into my pocket.
‘Just you wait, Serin. I'm going to perfectly destroy everything you've clumsily built up over the past week!’
I stared at my reflection in the mirror and steeled my resolve. My face had turned bright red, probably from the cold water, but I ignored it. After drying my damp face with a towel and returning to my room, I noticed a message had arrived on the smartphone sitting on my desk.
I'd wondered if Serin was messaging me ahead of the collab stream, but when I checked, the sender was none other than my fellow third-generation member, Airi.
Why was this person reacting so dramatically over a simple collab stream? Besides, she'd already collabed with the other two members besides me and Priya. Was she trying to claim everyone's first collab? How greedy could one person be?
While I was typing away in disbelief, exchanging childish banter with Airi, she eventually made a proposal as if trying to negotiate.
I thought about Shura, another member of my cohort. But since I'd never actually met her at the agency, I couldn't easily picture her face. Aside from when we'd all gathered to discuss original songs, we hadn't met as a group. We weren't particularly close, to put it mildly. More accurately, we were just awkward acquaintances who'd exchanged messages a few times. Still, I'd watched everyone's debut streams. I knew she had a healing-type vibe… But why had she gone through Airi to make the offer? Maybe she had trouble with people, like I did back in middle school?
‘Well, there's no harm in getting along with my fellow cohort members. But more importantly…’
‘The collab stream coming up soon.’
After finishing my conversation with Airi, I set my smartphone down on the desk. Sitting properly in front of my computer, I reviewed my preparations for the upcoming collab stream. On the surface, the collab with her would be a friendly yuri business stream. But in reality, it was a terrifying fencing match where we'd be waiting for the right moment to strike with hidden blades. To completely crush my opponent, I needed to prepare even more thoroughly.
Several hours later, the time for the decisive battle had finally arrived. It was the historic moment of my first collab stream.
*
The collab stream would be held on Priya's channel, not mine. Serin had asked if it wouldn't be better to stream together or use my channel since it had more viewers, but I'd come here today to destroy her and plant my flag of conquest. That wouldn't have served any purpose. At this point, she'd probably gotten used to me pushing my way through. Serin had replied over the call that if that was what I wanted, she'd go along with it. Maybe she didn't place much significance on doing yuri business with someone like me. But how long would that composure last?
Confirming through my secondary monitor that the stream had started, I quietly waited for Serin to speak.
“…So, today's collab is our very first one. I'm nervous, but I guess I should call her in now. Sno?”
“Snow~ Hello, this is Sno! Thank you for having me on Riya's stream today. Please take care of me!”
“Welcome. It's not much, but I hope you enjoy your stay.”
For now, we'd start with casual self-introductions. After moving my virtual avatar to its pre-adjusted position, I chatted lightly with her. Since this was our first two-person collab aside from the group collab during our debuts, just processing my current feelings into something pleasant to listen to made five minutes fly by in an instant.
Then, at the moment when a decent number of viewers had gathered and it felt appropriate to move on to the main topic, I quietly drew a sharp blade from within my chest. Hiding my true intentions, I spoke calmly.
“Actually, I was the one who suggested today's collab. I happened to run into her at the agency yesterday.”
“Yeah. I was really surprised when I first heard about it. I never expected her to suggest it first.”
“Happy, right? After all, Riya likes me so much she can't help herself.”
“Eek…?!”
This was line number one from the “Narcissistic Serin Quote Collection” that Serin had mentioned before. Since she had such high self-esteem, she could say things like that without batting an eye. I'd simply adapted it and thrown it back at her. But maybe Serin hadn't expected me to deliver a line like that. Her virtual avatar on the secondary monitor was visibly flustered. In contrast, my avatar simply smiled lightly as if nothing had happened. Wouldn't viewers naturally sense who had the upper hand from the screen?
Of course, pushing any deeper here would be something only an amateur would do. I pulled the blade back out as if withdrawing it, let out a giggle, and took a step back.
“Why are you so surprised? It's just a joke I make all the time, isn't it?”
“R-right…. It's been a while, so I got a little flustered. Ahaha….”
Judging from Serin's reaction, yesterday's yuri business declaration had left a meaningful impression after all. Even a comment she normally wouldn't have paid attention to had her panicking and scrambling. Huh, it felt like I might end up awakening some strange preference at this rate…
After briefly tilting my head while looking at the ceiling, I refocused on the stream.
“Shall we move on to today's content then? Actually, I didn't even tell Riya what we're doing today.”
“Yeah. She wouldn't tell me anything about what we're doing, so… I was so curious I couldn't even sleep.”
“Does that mean… you couldn't sleep because you were thinking about me too much?”
“Fufu, you could interpret it that way. It was the first excitement I'd felt in hundreds of years.”
“…Tch.”
She'd already adapted to the flirting lines? What an annoying adaptive organism…
I glanced at the twelve types of lines I'd written on papers stuck to the wall. I'd only used two so far, and they were already spent. She really was a formidable opponent. Still, it was fine. What I'd used so far were just probing jabs. From here on out, it would be proper straight punches—swords that would cut down the enemy without mercy!
Taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve, I looked directly at Serin on the secondary monitor and spoke.
“From now on, Riya and I will compete in a game. However, the loser must grant whatever wish the winner desires!”
“A-any wish? That's…”
She let out a troubled voice, clearly flustered by my statement. That was a natural reaction. Keeping what we'd be doing a secret until just now, then suddenly proposing a game with wishes on the line—it was an incredibly underhanded move. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't accept. But after hearing this, could she really refuse?
As if to say exactly that, I continued leisurely.
“Of course, that would put me at too much of an advantage, so I'll add one restriction on my end. If I win, I'll decide what wish to ask of you right now, in advance.”
“What are you thinking of?”
“If I win, Priya has to act cute for me. And if I lose… I'll grant whatever wish you want. How about it? Considering both our risks, it's a fair enough match, right?”
“Acting cute versus… granting any wish…”
This actually tilted the balance in the opponent's favor. If she won, she could make me do anything, but if she lost, it would only end with her having to act cute? This was practically no-risk, high-return. It was an unfair trade on the level of printing money from newspaper. So with this, there was no way she could refuse. Would the prideful princess decline the match? Surely not just because she didn't want to act cute?
And that entire thought process was exactly the trap I'd laid.
‘My goal is to destroy the boring image Serin's built up until now. I wonder if her mask will hold when she's faced with me making her do something embarrassing!’
Kuhahaha! Having completely backed my opponent into a corner, I burst into villainous laughter in my heart. This was a true checkmate. This was my perfect plan to thoroughly crush Serin.
I had no intention of losing. The game I'd brought was the type that couldn't be mastered in a short amount of time—a hardcore game. Despite how it looked, I had accumulated experience, and I'd spent the entire previous day practicing winning strategies obsessively. No matter how talented the princess was, how could she possibly win here? Unless lightning struck my house and caused a power outage, my victory was guaranteed.
However, having heard all this, Serin apparently couldn't refuse. In a calm voice that hid her true thoughts, she answered my proposal.
“Very well. If I've been underestimated to this degree, I can't back down as the princess of the great wolf clan. I'll accept your challenge.”
“Hmph, that's more like it.”
“But on the other hand, if I win multiple times… I'll get that many wishes. Are you sure you're okay with that?”
“You're dreaming big. You won't win even once against me today, so that's unnecessary worry!”
Having finished setting everything up in advance, I invited Serin to the game I'd created. There, my level 117 and Priya's pitiful level 1 were displayed side by side, their experience gap laid bare for all to see.
I'll make today the worst day of your life—one you'll never forget!
Imagining what kind of embarrassing act I should make her perform, I gripped my mouse tightly. And roughly two hours into the game, after the most intense back-and-forth exchange yet, I let out a dazed voice at the text that appeared on screen.
“H-huh…?”
“I finally won. It was an annoying winning strategy, but after getting hit by it a few times, I finally figured out the solution. Relying on simple patterns isn't a very good habit, Sno.”
I… lost?
To someone I'd only played against for the first time today?
At the unbelievable result unfolding before my eyes, the world seemed to spin. How had things turned out like this? Squeezing my eyes shut, I retraced my memories of how we'd reached this point.