Huh? Is Today Christmas? I've Grown a Horn...
The black-haired woman with her ponytail tied back let out a groan at Jia’s words and scratched her head. The one who answered wasn’t Jia, but the light-brown-haired girl sitting beside her.
“…Unnie.”
“Hm? Did you call me, Mina?”
Mina’s blue eyes were filled with a seriousness anyone could recognize at a glance.
“Illustrators have… an un-uncompromising pride…!”
“That’s it! As expected, Mina gets it!”
“E-even if it’s a job where we end up taking less than usual, once we accept a commission we have to deliver the highest possible quality…!”
“Exactly! And Jia, you saw it too, right?!”
Shia manipulated the screen, pulling up several photographs. Displayed there were images of the outfit and warhammer sent by her client, Lene.
“When you receive reference material of this quality, there’s no need to worry about something as trivial as money!”
“Mhm, mhm!”
Watching the pair passionately nod at each other, Jia could only throw both hands up in surrender.
“…Sorry. I guess I stuck my nose in without understanding anything.”
“No, no. Mina and I are probably the weird ones here.”
“From the start, the species known as illustrators is just full of strange people….”
Jia let out a small laugh at their words, then lay down on the floor and stared at the ceiling.
“…Anyway, you’ll finish within the week, right? It’s been ages since I came all the way to Japan. I can’t just work the whole time and leave, unnie.”
“Well, that is why I came, but… we should still hang out together at the end.”
“Who on earth flies to Japan for a job they’re not even getting paid for….”
“Right here~.”
A message arrived from Teacher Shumi, who had taken on my VTuber illustration.
The illustration she sent was so perfect that I honestly wondered if it was already finished. She had worked from the photos I provided, but the result wasn’t merely identical—it elevated the charm of the priestess robes so beautifully that I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration. The necklace design I had insisted must never be changed was exactly as requested, and the warhammer standing beside the figure perfectly embodied its purpose of interrogating heretics.
What I loved most was the avatar’s appearance. Instead of silver-white hair, it had jet-black locks. Instead of red eyes, deep brown ones. A perfectly ordinary woman stood there—someone who wouldn’t look out of place anywhere, with no alien features whatsoever.
“Haa…”
While I was still basking in the emotion, another message from Teacher Shumi arrived. She was asking if she could watch my stream. Of course I had no reason to refuse.
Today is December 22nd… If it’s finished in two days, that means I’ll receive it on the 24th. So I’m getting a Christmas Eve present. It feels like receiving both a birthday and Christmas gift at the same time.
Come to think of it, back in that other world we never did anything for Christmas. Since the faith was different, the concept of Christmas itself didn’t exist. The very idea of dates was a bit different too. And on my birthday… there was no one to celebrate with me, so I would hole up in my room and curse the world. At least I could talk with Ia, but she isn’t human. As for my previous life… there’s no point even mentioning it. Celebration? Please.
While I was lost in those thoughts, another MissCode notification rang.
“…Ah.”
What do I do? Is it okay to tell the truth? If Teacher Shumi finds out I’m a woman and spreads it around, my perfect plan will be in serious trouble. But… she’s such a good person who was going to do all these drawings for free. I didn’t want to create unnecessary secrets.
“Thank goodness…”
She really was a good person. I had briefly worried she might use this as leverage to ask for more money.
“Mmm…”
Anyway, if I’m receiving this illustration on Christmas Eve… maybe I should stream on Christmas? Like giving the Lene fans a Christmas present. I did say I’d be on break for about a month, but the whole reason for the break was to prepare my VTuber model. Now that it’s ready, there’s no problem with turning on the stream. I can also calm down the terrorist Lene fans who keep demanding daily streams. I never said I’d be gone for exactly one month anyway. At first I planned to test things for a week after receiving the model, but I wanted to show it off as soon as possible. After all, I was only able to get this illustration because they supported me. If I hadn’t received all that money, I wouldn’t have been able to prepare as a VTuber in the first place.
“Hehe…”
I’m going this far for them, yet the Lene fans are still thinking about becoming heretics. I really wish they would reflect.
Thinking about it, Christmas has no meaning to me whatsoever, so why did I decide to give the Lene fans a present? The reason was simple. I had always dreamed of spending a noisy, lively holiday like this with others. Even if it was a day that had nothing to do with me. A day when everyone was off work, gathering together, laughing and chatting, simply enjoying each other’s company. That was the kind of day I had always wanted.
Lene
Hello
Platform: Talk | Viewers: 421 | Time: 00:01:51
But for some reason the stream chat had a doomsday atmosphere. Today is Christmas so everyone should be having a good time. Did something happen to all the Lene fans at once? If that’s the case it would be truly unfortunate, so I should offer some comforting words during today’s broadcast.