Retirement by Marriage? Adulthood Means Learning to Compromise

Retirement by marriage? Adulthood means learning to compromise. That was what Lora thought.

How many people actually achieved the exact dreams they wrote down in elementary school? Back when she entered high school, she had confidently listed an SKY university as her goal, but ideals always seemed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just out of reach. Yeah, better to compromise at a reasonable level. The higher you piled expectations onto the scale, the heavier the disappointment when it tipped. Wasn't it always smarter to give up quickly and look for another path? Compromising like this wouldn't ruin her life or anything. It was just steering in a slightly different direction, that's all.

Yet here she was, living a life completely different from her original plan, and she couldn't help but fear what her elementary school self would think of her now. Still, learning to compromise was probably what becoming an adult meant. And that was how she had become a VTuber. Now, it was time to quit being one. The result of all that compromise.

"...Why are you even reading stuff like that?"

Lora frowned unconsciously. The landlord's greatest strength was her beautiful face. Her weakness was pretty much everything else. This woman never did anything for herself. She loved tea but barely made any effort to boil water on her own. And so Lora had been summoned to Laura's room to make tea, while Laura scrolled through the gallery as she waited.

"You're here, Lora. Did you really have an encounter like this at the supermarket?"

"Don't talk nonsense, sis. ...Ugh, what the hell is going on in these people's heads that they come up with things like this?"

Just skimming the comments made her dizzy. She sometimes thought about it while VTubing—viewers were geniuses, whether in a good way or a bad way. Did they just sit around eating and thinking up gags all day? No sane person could write stuff like this.

"If you ever do get married, let me know in advance. I'll have to hire a new housekeeper."

"I can't even hit you for that, seriously..."

"But I don't quite understand this. Are you really quitting being a VTuber?"

"......"

When the question came, Lora hesitated for a moment. But thinking about it carefully... what was there left to hide at this point? She'd already been caught streaming as a VTuber on Anna's broadcast last time.

"Yeah, I'm quitting."

Once she said it out loud, she realized a beat too late that she hadn't actually wanted to say it. Quitting. It wasn't a word she particularly liked.

"I'm supporting you, and you're quitting? That's disappointing."

Laura said it as if she didn't really care. Supporting? Supporting?? ...Maybe she really should smack her once.

"I just don't think VTubing suits me. So I'm going to work as a manager instead."

"Manager? Weren't you going to be a video editor?"

"Ah, there was that too... I was originally planning to be a video editor, but they asked me to handle some manager work."

Lora pulled over a chair and plopped down. Compromising wasn't hard. In fact, it felt like she'd been compromising her whole life. She'd wanted to go to an SKY university that others would envy. When that didn't work out, she'd compromised for a decent Seoul university. In elementary school she'd written "celebrity" in the future aspiration box, but she didn't have the talent and her parents were strongly against it, so she gave up. Then she'd compromised by trying to become a VTuber, but that hadn't gone well either. Still, thanks to compromising quickly, she'd found a new path. That should be enough, right? She hadn't expected to compromise again from video editor to manager, but that was probably just how life worked. You could never predict which way it would bounce.

'It really never goes the way I want...'

Even though she was sometimes living her own life, it didn't feel like she was the one in control. That was what Lora thought.

"I see. Do your best."

Laura simply sipped her black tea. Carefree and relaxed. But even that appearance was so beautiful that it didn't even spark any sense of inferiority. Still, she was a little envious. It would have been nice if she'd been that pretty too. But there was no point thinking about things she couldn't have. If nothing else, she could never bring herself to hate someone. That might be what made it even harder.

"Sis, have you ever thought about trying to be a VTuber?"

The words came out of her mouth before she realized it. Laura raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"VTuber?"

"Yeah."

Lora nodded. Even as a regular person, she'd become quite the hot topic in the VTuber gallery. There was no doubt she had star potential. Just like in games, it felt like hardship would never touch this woman. She had talent. The kind of talent that Nekozuka Lora lacked. And Lora was too diligent to just ignore that and move on.

"Laura sis, you'd be perfect as a VTuber."

"VTuber... VTuber, huh..."

I sank deeper into the recliner and muttered to myself. Today, I logged into VR again. It wasn't to grind ranked games—I had made plans to meet Anna in VR. I was planning to train her again today. There was still a little time before Anna arrived. I recalled the conversation I'd had with Lora earlier.

"Then become a VTuber, sis. Being a VTuber is your true calling."

"You're literally born to be a VTuber, you know?"

It had been a while since I'd seen Lora so passionately arguing. In other words, she was being completely serious.

"It's not that I don't want to become a VTuber."

I spoke into the empty air. All I wanted to do every day was play games. If I could make money while gaming, what could be better than that? But if that was the case, wouldn't being a regular streamer be better? That thought had crossed my mind too.

"I'm pretty, after all."

That was a universal truth. As obvious as the sun setting and night falling. If I was an absolute beauty, wouldn't it be much better to just turn on the camera? People would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prostrate themselves before me in worship. But VTubers were people who didn't show their faces and instead broadcast through Live2D or 3D models. Even if it hid my beauty, no one could deny that my voice was beautiful. Still, was there really any need to hide it so thoroughly? Being a VTuber didn't seem any better than being a regular streamer.

"But to deny what Lora said, I realize I don't know enough about it."

In the first place, I didn't even really know what a VTuber did as a job. It wouldn't be good to jump to conclusions without knowing anything. Whether it was when I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ruled the ducal house or when I fought on the battlefield, holding fixed preconceptions had never led to good results. Since Anna would be here soon, I might as well ask her about it.

"I'm sorry, Teacher! Could we possibly cancel today's training...?"

Just as I was thinking that, Anna arrived, bowing her head repeatedly.

"Did something urgent come up?"

"Yes, um, well..."

Anna fidgeted.

"There's a stream I really want to watch...! So I can't do training today!"

......What?