Unexpected Gentleness
Sorry, but that’s probably just bait. Right after Bora left, I’d announced I’d start streaming at six, yet the closer the time drew, the more the thought of “this is such a hassle” kept circling in my head. …Maybe I should just rest? Honestly, even if I turned the stream on now, I doubted I could run it properly…. People come to streams to have fun and relieve stress, so if the streamer is in this state, wouldn’t it just make them uncomfortable? For my own sake. And for the sake of my followers. Wouldn’t it be better to take the day off after all?
The perfect theory had formed in my head, but the world doesn’t run on theory alone. “Uuuugh….” I’d already posted the announcement saying I’d start at six. No helping it. I had to do it….
“Uuuuugh….” Ariel, the Saint of the Iia Order, clutched her stomach and let out a quiet, pained groan. ‘Are you all right?’ “It’s a little worse today….” The pain was sharper than usual, as if needles were stabbing wildly into her lower abdomen. It wasn’t merely painful; it was unpleasantly so, a sensation one could never grow accustomed to. Even Ariel, whose face rarely showed emotion, furrowed her brow.
‘Just wait a moment.’ At Iia’s sympathetic words, a warm energy welled up within Ariel’s body. The pain eased in an instant. Her condition improved dramatically, and only then could Ariel let out a sigh of relief.
Knock, knock. “Who is it…?” “It’s me, Ariel.” “Ah, you may come in.” Hearing the familiar voice beyond the door, Ariel straightened her slightly disheveled posture. The door opened with a creak. The man who entered was a middle-aged figure with distinctive faded gray hair.
“Ariel. It seems I’ll need to step out for a while today. The schedule for lunch…” “Yes. I’ll handle it in your stead.” “…No. You should rest properly today. We’ll postpone the schedule until tomorrow.” At Pope Reinhardt’s considerate words, Ariel frowned. She had realized he’d noticed her condition.
‘That’s sexual harassment~.’ “That is sexual harassment.” “…Isn’t that a bit much?” He had only meant to look out for her because she seemed unwell today. Reinhardt sighed, feeling wronged. “Anyway, rest well. It’s something that can wait a day.” “…Thank you for your consideration.” “Mm.” With those words, Reinhardt left the room.
Ariel was alone again, yet her posture remained impeccable, as though that were the very duty of a saint. Because of that, her doubt only deepened. “…Does it show that much?” Even with the goddess’s blessing dulling the pain as much as possible, how had Reinhardt noticed so quickly?
‘It’s less that it shows and more that he’s been looking after you since you were little, don’t you think? Compared to Lene, I’d say it barely shows at all.’ “…That’s true.” Ariel nodded quietly at Iia’s words. She knew all too well how Lene, the former Inquisitor of the Iia Order who could no longer be seen, would change on those days. ‘That’s cute~.’ “It is cute…” Iia had liked Lene from the very beginning. Ariel, who shared the trait of receiving Iia’s abundant favor, felt an inner sense of closeness. The two quietly empathized with each other’s thoughts. Of course, the parts they found cute were slightly different.
Once I actually started the stream, my mind felt considerably clearer. Maybe it was because I couldn’t run away now that it was on? Of course, that languid feeling hadn’t completely vanished, but it didn’t seem like it would interfere much with running the stream itself.
“Hello, everyone. This is Lene….”
“Mm… Today, I just felt like talking with everyone, so I turned the stream on like this….” I hadn’t really prepared any particular topic. How could someone like me, who fundamentally had issues with conversation and communication, think of something like that? I’d just glance at the chat and talk about whatever seemed interesting. Of course, if it were up to me, I’d want to play games like usual… but focusing on a game in my current state was absolutely not an easy task.
“If there’s anything you’re curious about regarding me, or anything you’d like to say, please feel free to speak up….”
“Huh…? No, I’m not in any pain at all…. Mm, maybe I’m just feeling a little sluggish….”
“…Huh? I didn’t drink…. I don’t even like alcohol that much to begin with….”
“Hehe… Why is everyone acting like this today…? You’re all so cute, pfft….”
If someone asked whether Lene was feminine, most of her viewers and followers would probably say no. Then why was one of Lene’s nicknames “Female Genius”? Why did her viewers and followers tease her by calling her feminine? It was because of the image Lene occasionally showed during her streams. Naturally airheaded, strangely stubborn in odd ways, and living entirely on her own pace—Lene’s streams were filled with the personality of a pure, malicious troublemaker. The extremely feminine sides she showed once in a while in such streams became perfect bait for her viewers and followers. Normally a malicious, airheaded troublemaker, but seeing her like that sometimes made them think, “Yeah, she really is a Female Genius….” On top of that, as videos compiling those moments were uploaded to Lene’s gallery, people even started saying, “Actually, that’s her real self!”
But even they thought today’s Lene was strange.
Her voice carried a much gentler atmosphere than usual, when she merely spoke in a slightly drawn-out tone. On top of that, she didn’t push her own opinions and instead respected her followers’ opinions while smiling at them. It was completely different from the Lene they had seen until now. It was novel. It was fresh. It was new.
On top of that, she even showed the sulky expression that was occasionally seen even normally and was most popular among her viewers and followers.
[It really doesn’t seem like anything special at all….] But the person in question, Lene, had no such awareness whatsoever. In fact, she couldn’t even understand why they liked it. ‘Today really feels like I’m not doing anything at all….’ Because of her sluggish mood, her voice tone had risen slightly, and the way she just went along with whatever was said while empathizing half-heartedly—Lene truly had no idea how that appeared to others.
And then. […I really like you all too.]
At those words, the chat exploded.