Parasocial Relationship (1)

Wait… you want me to kill Rui?

Anna blinked rapidly.

"No, um, I don't want to… I really, really like Rui, you know."

"So? Is there some kind of problem?"

Lora asked with that signature smile of hers. A problem? Honestly, the problem was everything. Anna let out a long sigh.

Hobbies. For Anna, there was nothing but hobbies. Born into a wealthy family, she had more leisure than most people, which meant she lacked any real drive to achieve something. She had no burning ambition to climb higher than where she was now. Not even the will to become a better person. The only thing that gave her life meaning was the fleeting pleasure of the moment.

It was a shameful life built entirely on waste, but precisely because of that, hobbies were the most important domain in Anna's existence.

After chasing that craving for a hobby, she eventually discovered one particular VTuber.

"…I don't want to become Rui's enemy. If anything, I want to be on her side."

She wasn't entirely sure if Hanabane Rui was an especially charming VTuber. Even so, Anna found herself wanting to watch this person until the very end.

She had learned the name of the dog Rui raised. She had heard the story of the bullying Rui suffered during her school days. She even knew that Rui's parents had divorced and that she had lived with her grandmother when she was little. By now, she also understood that despite her appearance, Rui carried enormous drive and ambition in her heart.

Unlike herself.

Maybe that difference was exactly why she had become such a devoted fan.

She knew who Rui was. She knew about her family relationships, her personal connections, her desires, and her dreams.

That was why, to Anna, Rui was no longer a stranger.

In this world, there are things that, once known, cannot be undone.

Probably everyone decides on their oshi this way.

She wanted to cheer Rui on.

"That's a misconception, Anna."

A whisper.

"You already know it well, don't you? That to Hanabane Rui right now, you are nothing at all."

"……"

Anna closed her mouth.

Parasocial relationship phenomenon. The experience of feeling like a long-time friend toward a broadcaster you've never actually met. Things like developing pseudo-romantic feelings for celebrities were generally lumped together under the term parasocial relationships.

Of course Anna knew. She knew that Rui probably wasn't even aware of her existence.

"You couldn't be satisfied with just watching, right? That's why you became a VTuber and entered the tournament, isn't it?"

"…Mmm."

It was true. She had no choice but to admit it. Clearly, she had become a VTuber for a much lighter reason than most others. For Anna, hobbies were everything. And because she had thrown herself into her hobbies more intensely than anyone else… this was the result. There was nothing else to say.

She had gone about it with her own convictions, but now that Lora knew the truth, a wave of embarrassment crashed over her.

"Y-yes, that's true… but I would never cross the line. I just want Rui to do well… There are so many cases where fans get too obsessed and it causes problems, right? I'm different from those kinds of people."

"Wanting to become friends with that person, or get an autograph?"

"Yes, exactly that much…! There are tons of people like that in this industry, you know? It's pretty common for fans of a specific VTuber to become VTubers themselves…"

"Have you never thought about becoming someone special?"

"Kill Rui with your own hands. Then you can become someone special to her."

"What kind of perverted thing are you even…"

"I'm sure it will feel wonderful."

The finger that had been pressed against her forehead slid down the bridge of her nose. Once the hand was withdrawn, Anna found herself staring into eyes so deep they seemed to pull her in.

…She really was disgustingly beautiful.

Her personality was completely twisted, so why did she have to look like this? It was enough to take Anna's breath away. This must be what a demon wearing human skin looked like.

"……Alright. I'll give it a try like you said, teacher."

Before she knew it, Anna was nodding. It was as if she had been bewitched by a devil.

[Alright, shall we jump straight into the next ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠participant match?]

[Hold on. Let me set a new password.]

-Click. Click. Click.

Rui covered the broadcast screen and changed the custom room's password. After that, she could kick out everyone currently in the custom room and start a completely fresh match with new people.

"501145."

"Huh?"

"It's 501145. Make sure to enter it in advance."

Rui's model moved in the corner of the broadcast screen. The path of her gaze, the subtle movements of her hands, and the faint sound effects. Anna guessed it was probably 501145.

[Password has been reset. It's 5011xx. 5011xx.]

As soon as I heard that, I immediately entered the password and joined the custom room. Anna came in a beat later.

[Whoa, two people already? That was fast.]

[I'll start as soon as we hit twelve.]

After that, the custom room gradually filled up. Since Rui was on Team A, that side naturally filled first. But as Anna and I had discussed beforehand, we moved over to Team B early on. Rui looked a bit surprised that the first arrivals had gone to the enemy team, but she didn't say anything in particular.

[U-um, teacher? Can you hear me?]

"I can hear you."

After moving to Team B, we turned on Discord. We had set the voice chat so that only Anna and I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could hear each other.

[Teacher, do I have to play Alchemist again this time?]

"This time, play whatever you're most confident in. Think about killing Rui with your own hands."

[That's why I don't want to kill her… I'm still practicing Alchemist, so I'll go with Magic Engineer instead.]

"Do that. However, since I'll be playing the Deserter, you'll have to take the carry role."

[Now that I think about it, your main is Deserter, right teacher?]

Not exactly. I started with Deserter because I was used to single combat, but I don't insist on any particular position. I'm confident no matter where I go. In fact, there have been times when our positions overlapped and I played the main tank instead.

But this time, I couldn't hand this role over to anyone else.

[Everyone's here, so I'll press start.]

And so the game began.

As planned, I picked Dark Knight. Anna picked Magic Engineer.

"I'll take Deserter."

"Sure, go ahead."

Surprisingly, the Deserter position was given up without much ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resistance. Maybe because this was a participant match instead of ranked. Everyone had come to have fun, so they probably weren't in the mood for serious sweat. Or perhaps it was because I was Diamond rank. After all, the rest of our team was nothing but Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

After the ban/pick phase, the teams looked like this:

The stench of a sewer hit me right in the nose. Once I noticed it, the damp air clung to my skin. An indescribable discomfort. Just standing here made me feel like my health was deteriorating. But the unpleasantness lasted only a moment.

Labyrinthos had a sensory adjustment system. Pain, cold, heat, and other uncomfortable sensations felt in-game were all corrected. It was only natural. People played games to have fun, not to suffer.

So after a while, it started to feel not so bad.

"Ignite."

Our team's Battle Mage muttered quietly. A small flame rose from his hand, pushing back some of the darkness hanging over the sewer. The Battle Mage raised the flame slightly and looked around.

"The path splits in two. What will you do, Dark Knight?"

"I'll go left."

"Understood. Then our main force will head right."

A quick agreement. Less than a minute after the game started, I had already left the party. Right before we split, Anna glanced in my direction, but I didn't react much. There was no need to reveal that we were duoing.

I advanced down the passage.

This match was a little different from usual. I was still wearing my armor. If this had been solo queue, I would have taken it off. Mobility was far more important than defense. After all, defense was only necessary when you got hit. If you never got hit in the first place, what was the point?

'But in this game, mobility isn't really necessary.'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Up until now, Dark Knight had poor detection abilities, so I had no choice but to make up for it with mobility. But right now I was duoing with Anna. As long as she activated her ultimate, we could locate the enemy, which meant I didn't need to secure mobility myself.

So I had completely abandoned mobility and detection traits and built purely for attack power. It was to increase my hunting speed.

"This combination seems pretty good, doesn't it?"

I muttered to myself without thinking.

Dark Knight Deserter paired with Magic Engineer carry. The Magic Engineer covered the Dark Knight's weak detection, allowing me to focus even more on growth. It hadn't been properly tested yet, but this felt pretty broken. It was almost a shame I could only use it in participant matches. It would have been nice to use in ranked too.

But it couldn't be helped. Using Dark Knight Deserter and Magic Engineer carry required voice chat, which meant we had to duo. Anna's rank difference was too big to queue ranked together, and I didn't particularly want to find a local duo either. Besides, I had rejected every duo request up until now. I was only doing this with Anna because we knew each other in real life. If we had only known each other online, we never would have duoed like this.

'In other words, it just shows how narrow my personal relationships are.'

Well, what could I do? A villainess was always a noble existence. The more exalted one was, the harder it became to mingle with others.

[T-teacher!]

I had cleared about five neutral monster camps when Anna's voice came through.

"Have you filled your ultimate gauge? If you have, use it once."

[I haven't filled it yet! More importantly, the main team is under attack!]

"Attack?"

[Rui… the Puppeteer is here right now! Our Heavy Warrior already died!]

I see. I nodded. Hmm. Looks like things have gone a bit south.