Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Now's the Chance!
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“Are you ignoring me?! You think I'm joking?!”
Time just slipped by while they bickered.
Even as Iruka finished off her dinner, the Boss kept throwing her tantrum.
It was a mystery how such a thunderous shout could come from that tiny frame.
“Fine, I get it. I know it's a golden opportunity and all... but what if Sensei's a senior who's already got his career path set?”
“Then I'll take responsibility for his life and drag him in!!”
“Are you sane?”
“Even if we can't recruit him outright, we have to do a collab!!”
“What are you, a mosquito...?”
“No, but seriously, it'll work! He's guaranteed to blow up!”
Iruka popped the last sausage into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“Fine!! If the stream flops, I'll take responsibility for his life!!”
“Sis, that sounds way too much like a con artist.”
“That's why you gotta do it!! If I say do it, do it!!”
“That's not a con artist—that's a criminal.”
Hmm. Iruka remained skeptical.
This sister was born for streaming; hanging out with her was never boring.
There were precious few people who maintained this level of high energy nonstop, even off-stream.
Iruka knew that better than anyone—she was one of the few survivors from the OurTV days with the title of [60 Months Straight Subscriber].
'That's why I fell for it.'
But... fun and trustworthy were two totally different things, right?
And Yuuri didn't even project a trustworthy vibe on empty words alone.
Search for Yuuri on WithTube, and the top clips would be predictable.
Mostly her shouting, screaming, and wailing.
Could a first-time viewer really bet their life on that?
“We don't even know if that veteran actually watches streams.”
“He said he's watched some before? Does he have a Switch ID?”
“That's why we gotta test the waters first.”
“...Fine. Okay, I get it. Let's just see how things play out until the next collab.”
“By then the hype will die down!! We've got all this aggro pulled—perfect time to ride the wave with VR Talk content!! It's prime time!! Kingly timing!!”
“Hmm...”
“Is it...?”
Undeterred by Hanami and Iruka's doubtful stares, the Boss bellowed on.
“Now's the chance!!”
“Now's the chance, though...”
In the end, I scrapped the entire long message.
It felt too pathetic, and I wondered if I really needed to grovel like that.
“...Nah, maybe not.”
Thinking it over, I was a total noob when it came to live streaming.
I'd only tried it once, but live streams were a whole different beast from edited videos.
To someone like me with barely any exposure, it was uncharted territory.
Starting from scratch alone felt way too risky.
Leeching off a big corp's scraps seemed like the smarter play, no matter how you sliced it.
Stream setup, delivery style, pitfalls to avoid... the list went on forever.
And that was just scratching the surface—tons more questions piled up even without content ideas.
The more I mulled it over, the more I leaned toward it.
The last collab had words flowing easy, but that was as a guest.
Hitching a ride on someone else's stream versus building from the ground up solo? Night and day.
Hell, what would I even do if I hit 'Go Live'?
Set a new Odin's Daughter speedrun world record?
That might actually be fun...
No. What if it's only fun for me?
The thought of viewers typing 'Great voice, zero entertainment' gave me chills.
Yeah, the tide was definitely coming in right now.
Best to paddle when the moment's ripe.
But flailing solo and capsizing would be putting the cart before the horse.
Having an advisor on board would be ideal...
“Still, asking for help out of the blue feels...”
Was there a subtle way to feel it out without being a burden?
“Anyway, pitching VTuber right off the bat is too aggressive.”
“For real.”
“Hype fades day by day, you know? We gotta grab attention with something first.”
“True that.”
“Iruka, whose side are you on?”
“Always Team Winner—Team Us?”
“Then shut it.”
“Yessum.”
Hanami finally wrangled the situation.
“Before VTuber talk, we gotta confirm if he'll even stream. And if he does, cam or no-cam?”
“Exactly. Let's just ask him now.”
“No, we need to build rapport on stream first... get friendly, set the vibe.”
“We don't have time for that!”
“Get rejected, and it's game over?”
“...Then lure him in with a collab first.”
The three huddled up to refine the plan.
Probe his streaming know-how first.
Then nudge him toward Hanami's stream.
Ease him in gradually, etc.
“Anyway, we gotta reel him in and set the stage somehow.”
“Collab doesn't mean VTuber debut, got it?”
“To hook him, steady invites to group collabs or viewer raids.”
“Then we three surround him from all sides...”
“Do we have to phrase group collabs like that?”
“Pin him down so he can't wriggle free...”
“You sound like a total scammer, sis.”
We chuckled wickedly.
Whatever Nami and Iruka said fell on deaf ears.
“No hiding from this. Other streamers are probably eyeing him by now.”
“...Huh. Hmm?”
“Hold up, Hanami. What's with that reaction?”
“Ahem.”
“You didn't... hook him up with other streamers, did you?”
Silence stretched for seconds.
Just as Yuuri's eyes started twitching...
“...Well, a couple acquaintances asked if they could add him.”
“Ditch Florence?!?!”
“Ow!! My eardrums!!”
Hanami clutched her ears.
Iruka, anticipating it, had muted her volume and survived unscathed.
“Namiya!! We're family!! We get first dibs!!”
“Ow, I haven't said yes yet!!”
“Hey, Hanami!! Message him now. Right now!!”
“Can't!!”
“Do it!!”
“I said can't!!”
“Please!!”
“Why are you so shameless about this?!”
“Just grind on him!! Make it happen somehow!!”
“Gotta grind somehow, yeah...”
Still, diving in headfirst bare naked was scary.
“Hmm... but isn't that a bit too thick-skinned?”
Asking for straight-up help felt shameless, too.
After just one collab—did that justify the ask?
Wouldn't hovering cluelessly be rude?
“Just close my eyes and go for it?”
If I could snag some help, the upsides were endless.
Stick to a big corp like a leech, and I'd lap up those sweet scraps.
“Nah...”
But after just one collab.
We'd vaguely promised another, but no clue when...
“Send it... no... send... no...”
Argh. This'll loop forever.
I took a deep breath and hovered my mouse.
Alright. Decision made!!
Make or break—let's clash!!
Gotta cast the line to get a bite!!
...Or rework the message more?
*Ding.*
Right as I hesitated.
Just as I squeezed my eyes shut to hit Enter.
*Ding.*
*Ding.*
“?”
The chat window I'd been about to send in lit up with their alerts.
-Hello, Master. Hope you're doing well. Sorry for the sudden message, but could I ask your thoughts on a group collab? Here's the concept we're planning: (…) If you need gear or costs covered, we can support that. And (…) You seem to have real talent for streaming (…), so looking forward to your reply.
“???”
What the.
I hadn't even tossed out bait yet.
Why was the fish diving straight into the net?
Hanami's back-and-forth went like this.
Thoughts on group collabs with other members?
Could you watch some streams before the next one?
Plus questions on Switch account, streaming habits, etc.
Rubbing my eyes and staring at the monitor didn't change a thing.
What. Was this too good to be true?
“One worry down...?”
We traded plenty, but one vibe stood out.
They were still low-posture... and seemed desperate for me.
I let out a relieved sigh.
This opened the door to casually ask about streaming.
Bit dazed, but... hey, it worked out. Good enough.
Back to the screen.
-Before the group collab, could you check out some stream vibes?
-If you're cool, we could do more regularly.
-Straight splits might not scale forever, but if you're interested, solo streaming could be an option. Thoughts...?
No reason to refuse on my end.
Hell, I'd have done it unprompted.
I was already geared to try streaming, plans or not.
Scoping stream atmospheres? Solid idea.
Moused over to the Switch platform.
Switch.
As a WithTube viewer, I rarely visited, clueless on the vibe—but as one of Korea's duopoly streaming sites, I'd popped in a few times.
Mostly for world tourneys or World Cups...
Stream itch hit, so I'd made an account early.
Even to me, the glaring diff was... no VTubers?
Stark contrast.
Future timelines were VTuber central in every corner.
Just a few years' gap, yet a massive chasm.
Time to market-research via Hanami's stream.
-Also, a member from our VTuber group is interested in collab. Any thoughts on joining a 'Veteran Summoning Stone' content?
Things were flying by suddenly.
In the most convenient storyline for me, too.
A little stunned, but...
“Anyway, score!!”
Leave a killer impression this collab.
I'll snag the Boss's favor somehow...!!