010. Content is Outdoor Streaming
010. Content is Outdoor Streaming
Grasshopper and the large man pressed their arguments without a moment's pause.
Was this what a war of words between men of this world looked like?
Neither gave an inch.
‘The large guy was actually really logical. He spoke well. Grasshopper was just throwing out whatever garbage came to mind.’
Even so, the large man was at a disadvantage.
Because a sane person could never defeat an insane one.
You had to communicate to win or lose.
No matter how long the argument dragged on, it was clear that communication with an insect like Grasshopper would be impossible.
‘Picking a fight with a retard just blew things up. Should I step in and stop it?’
For the record, I wasn't doing anything.
I'd been sidelined at some point.
There was no gap for me to jump into that.
If it were a profanity battle or a brawl, I'd have jumped right in.
In any case, their dispute showed no signs of ending.
"So what I'm saying is! Why the hell should I apologize?!"
"You should apologize because you did something wrong. Try putting yourself in the other person's shoes. If someone walked by, called you a male prostitute, would you feel good about it?"
"What? Did you just call me a male prostitute?"
"No, I was giving an example. Why can't you understand what I'm saying? It's really frustrating!"
The murderous atmosphere intensified.
Their voices grew louder and louder.
Perhaps because the commotion was growing.
People who had been shopping nearby started to gather one by one.
"What's going on?"
"From what I heard, that short man called the dark-haired man a male prostitute."
"What. Then the small man is the one at fault."
"Hey, isn't that person a Neotuber?"
"What's the relationship between those three?"
"I'm not certain, but it seems like they're all meeting for the first time?"
"Excuse me? So he called a complete stranger a male prostitute?"
"Isn't that a Neotuber...? Forget it if I'm wrong."
A huge crowd had gathered.
Were there always this many people?
It felt like three or four times as many as when we first entered the mart.
Eventually, we were surrounded by a sea of people.
The sound of people whispering grew louder too.
"He felt inferior, so he just picked a fight for no reason. You can size a guy up just by looking at his face."
"There were kids like that back when I was in school too... Life's exhausting when you're handsome."
"What's going on here? Why's everyone crowding around? Is there a sale or something?"
"No. It's because some men are fighting."
"Huh? Why?"
"Well, you see..."
More and more new people kept gathering.
The ones who'd been watching from the start filled them in on what was happening.
As a result, public opinion was turning against Grasshopper.
Grasshopper's girlfriend was dripping sweat and looking around nervously.
Then she started pressuring Grasshopper to apologize.
"...Honey. Can't you just apologize? Huh? Honestly, we were the ones in the wrong."
The collective stares must have brought on a wave of embarrassment.
"What? You're telling me to apologize to that goddamn male prostitute? Whose side are you on?!"
"H-honey! Lower your voice! Can't you see all these people around us?"
"...What the hell? When did everyone gather like this?"
Grasshopper only then registered the surrounding people.
Seeing him lower his voice while his face went red, he did seem to grasp the situation.
The large man still demanded an apology from Grasshopper.
"So, are you going to apologize or not?"
Grasshopper glanced sidelong at the crowd.
Maybe he could hear the insults aimed at him, because his expression was a sight to behold.
He kept his mouth clamped shut, but only for a moment.
"...Seriously so annoying. Fine! I'll do it, I said!"
Grasshopper, who had stubbornly refused to apologize when it was just us, scowled and changed his tune once there were more eyes watching.
Grasshopper walked up to me and gave a curt nod.
"I'll apologize."
"What exactly are you apologizing for?"
"For calling you a male prostitute..."
His attitude was absolutely terrible.
Grasshopper's face looked like he was chewing on bile, and his gaze was fixed elsewhere.
"...I think I got worked up too because you swore at me so harshly. I'm sorry."
Even his follow-up apology was laced with thorns.
So he still had some pride, did he?
I had no idea why he was tacking on the extra commentary.
It made me genuinely realize he wasn't normal.
It was getting to the point where Guburi seemed like an angel.
I'd considered expanding Grasshopper's earholes with the curses I'd loaded up, but I thought of a better method and changed my plan.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize being called an idiot would hurt your feelings that much."
"...Huh? What are you talking... You said way worse things than that!"
"Ahh. You mean I also called you a moron and a mutt. I'm truly sorry."
It was a social maneuvering technique I'd learned in the military.
I'd never used it normally.
I'd avoided it because it felt petty.
Today, however, was an exception.
Because I figured this would rile Grasshopper up more than just burying him in swears.
He was that infuriating.
Whatever the case, this method was remarkably effective.
As soon as I finished speaking, I could hear the crowd murmuring.
It was, predictably, all criticism of Grasshopper.
"Ha. I'm so stunned I can't even speak. Who the hell apologizes like that?"
"That's not a real apology, is it? He's just doing it because he's being forced to."
"Kids these days, tsk tsk."
"But is that really enough to get angry about?"
"Compared to male prostitute, those aren't even insults... Does it make sense to get all worked up just from being called an idiot, a moron, or a mutt?"
"Classic double standard. It's fine when he dishes out insults, but he can't stand taking them."
"N-no..."
Under fire from the crowd, Grasshopper's eyes started to well up.
He must have felt wronged. What a dumbass.
Grasshopper hung his head.
Couldn't even lift his face, could he?
Looking closely, a few teardrops were plopping onto the floor.
"Honey. Let's just go..."
The girlfriend next to him grabbed Grasshopper's wrist.
"Don't touch me!"
"O-okay..."
Grasshopper irritably shook off his girlfriend's hand and hurriedly pushed through the crowd at a brisk pace to leave. His girlfriend also ran off after him and vanished.
I felt sorry for the woman.
Anyway, that was how the trouble fizzled to an end.
I wanted to secretly follow him and curse him out, but I decided against it because I didn't feel like wasting the emotions and time.
‘...Really, all sorts of things happened. Why was today so eventful.’
I was usually pretty accustomed to fights.
Even in my previous world, plenty of guys had openly tried to start fights with me. Sometimes it ended after an exchange of curses, and it often escalated into physical fights.
But I'd never once been called a male prostitute.
Maybe as a joke.
Being insulted in earnest like that, called a male prostitute, felt bizarrely off.
‘I thought hearing something like that wouldn't affect me much, but this was a novel kind of shitty feeling...’
Experiencing it firsthand was strange.
The me who had lived in this world had gone through this kind of situation pretty often, but that was only another version of me, after all.
Even if the memories remained.
That bastard and I were clearly separate individuals.
Still, just in case...
It'd be better to forget the memories of this world as much as possible.
The memories of a life riddled with exhaustion would be no help at all in living.
***
After the gathered crowd dispersed.
Only the large man and I were left standing there in the empty space.
‘Ah. I should thank this guy first. He'd gone out of his way to help me.’
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I approached the man and expressed my gratitude.
"Thank you for helping me out just now."
"It was nothing, haha! I've been through the same thing often myself. I could relate, so I just helped out! Haha!"
This man was somewhat unbalanced.
He had a macho, muscular physique, yet a youthful face. His voice was slender, but his manner of speaking was cheerful.
He gave off a vibe similar to the men from my previous world.
Was this what the easygoing big-guy type that was trending these days looked like?
After seeing that bastard Grasshopper who ran off crying, looking at a guy like this felt like it was purifying my corroded eyes.
"By any chance, are you a streamer?"
The big man asked me.
His gaze was fixed on the camera attached to my cart.
"Ah, yes... It's just a hobby."
"I knew you were a streamer! I thought your visuals were no joke! Um, if it's not too rude, would you like to do a Collaboration Stream with me today..."
Just as the man was about to continue.
"There he is! What are you doing? Run over there and apologize!"
"Y-yes!"
Two employees came running this way, shouting their heads off.
The man's words were drowned out.
Their uniforms were identical to the employee I'd seen at the entrance.
They were different people, of course.
The first employee to arrive rushed past the large man and stopped in front of me. After catching her breath, she managed to speak.
"Huff, huff! We're so terribly sorry! You're the person here for the promotional shoot today, right? I did tell our new hire to guide you to the VIP room, but she must have missed your arrival because she was doing something else!"
What the hell, seriously?
I'd said I wasn't that person.
But there was no need to explain.
Thanks to the employee who arrived belatedly.
"You crazy bitch! He's not that guy!"
"Huh?"
"This gentleman beside you!"
The person that employee pointed at was the large man.