The Fourth Member Joins the Group

It's not common for a company with a friendly, close-knit group of trainees to debut VTubers one by one. There are several reasons for this. First of all, not every VTuber can become popular. Strategically speaking, it's far better to pick about five people and hope that at least one of them catches on, rather than debuting a single person who ends up with no traction. Above all else, there's the matter of relationships. For VTubers, interpersonal connections were an incredibly important factor.

Let's say there's a VTuber named A who's painfully unfunny. But what if VTuber A is incredibly close with VTuber B, and B is a massively popular VTuber from a major agency? And on top of that, their back-and-forth banter is actually entertaining? Then VTuber A rides the coattails of that popularity. In this industry, there were plenty of VTubers who could barely compete on pure talent or presence but still managed to make a living purely through their connections.

"So for this sixth generation, including you, four people are scheduled to debut."

Rion said it so casually. Before Lora could debut, there were three things she needed to take care of. The first was resolving the issue with the yanghak bug character addict, and the second was finding an illustrator. The third was getting close with her fellow genmates.

"Especially since there are a lot of viewers who pay close attention to the relationships between genmates. Once you become a VTuber, you'll meet all sorts of people, but your genmates will form the foundation of your human connections, so please be careful about that."

Lora spoke in a voice full of confidence.

That was what she said.

…This person. Is she really going to be okay? It feels like she's going to fail spectacularly….

Ayanokouji Sora. That was the name Seo Sola would be using as a VTuber. It sounded kind of cute, but also kind of not. It was a little ambiguous. Probably because it was so similar to her real name. She couldn't quite tell whether it came across as cute or not. Objectively speaking, it was probably cute. In any case, since the name was so close to her real one, she wouldn't have to worry about slipping up on stream. There was a higher chance of her personal information getting dug up, but Sola didn't particularly mind. After all, becoming famous was exactly what she wanted.

As soon as she entered the voice channel, a voice greeted her.

Sola mentally flipped a switch. Of course, she didn't literally pop open her skull and press a button. It was just an image she imagined. Even so, it helped change her mood. A smile spread across her face.

"Inagika, hello~! How have you been?"

"It's been so long, I'm really happy to see you~! Right~?"

Sola put on her most charming voice and casually glanced at the member list on the Discord server.

Ayanokouji Sora. Chell Sumeragi. Inagika. These three were the successful applicants for EYEAI's sixth generation.

'I thought they usually picked five per generation.'

For some reason, only three people had passed for the sixth gen. Maybe they decided it wasn't good to bloat the number of VTubers too much. Or perhaps most of the people who applied this time simply lacked the necessary qualities. The former seemed more likely, but Sola couldn't completely rule out the latter either.

"There's one more person in the Discord now? Is that new 'Aurora' person the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fourth sixth-gen member?"

"But I thought only the three of us passed the audition~? Do you know anything about her?"

When Sola asked, Inagika answered in a voice that seemed to shrink into itself. Inagika. One of the other successful sixth-gen applicants alongside her. Sola had spoken with her several times before, but the impression never changed. This girl was a total introverted shut-in. It wasn't meant as an insult. It was simply her entire character. She stuttered every time she spoke, used timid phrasing, occasionally failed to control her voice pitch, and sometimes overreacted in ways that felt excessive.

'That's probably why she became a VTuber.'

Would someone with good grades, strong social skills, and an attractive appearance choose to become a VTuber? In the end, most people who turned VTubing into a career tended to have some kind of issue. Whether it was their looks, their academic background, or their lack of social ability. In Inagika's case, it seemed to be the social aspect. She had mentioned applying because she lacked confidence in regular office work. Even so. Didn't being a VTuber require being good at talking as a bare minimum?

"I see. What about you, Chell? Do you know anything about this 'Aurora' person?"

Sola directed her question to the other person present. The fellow genmate who was clearly marked as online in the Discord server and had remained connected to the voice channel the entire time. Yet she hadn't said a single word, nor had she made any sound at all. Only after Sola called her name did the sound of her mic turning on click through the speakers.

Click. The mic turned off again.

Chell Sumeragi. This girl was always like this. She never opened her mouth unless spoken to, and even when she did, her answers were usually curt. It went beyond simple indifference to the world; she seemed completely uninterested in conversation itself. It was very clear that she had no desire to talk with them.

'Why did only these kinds of people gather together?'

Sola shrugged. One was an introverted shut-in. The other was a lone wolf who treated the entire world like it was beneath her. Still, she didn't think either of them was bad. She had no idea which of them would end up carrying the "rise" or "fall" of their generation as VTubers, but for Sola, it didn't really matter. Since both of her genmates were so quiet, she would naturally stand out. And that meant she could gain popularity. For Sola, that one fact was what mattered most.

"Rion?"

Sola tilted her head at the sudden message. Inagika seemed equally surprised, speaking in a startled voice.

"Ah~. Come to think of it, she said she was switching to staff. So that's why she's here?"

Sola made her guess. Not as a senior VTuber, but as staff working for EYEAI. As if to support Sola's speculation, Nekozuka Rion left a message in chat.

"So there's a new sixth-gen member after all."

Sola muttered, unconsciously licking her lips. To be honest, she wasn't thrilled. At the same time, she was curious. Quite some time had passed since the audition acceptance notices went out. Why would a new sixth-gen member appear when debut was only about a month away? Just who was this person?

—Ding. It was the notification sound that someone new had joined the voice channel. When she checked the member list, the previously offline 'Aurora' was now online. And the person who had just entered the voice channel was none other than 'Aurora' herself.

"Huh?"

Sola, who had been about to greet her with a cheerful "Hello~!", froze. It wasn't just because Aurora had beaten her to the introduction. It was because the voice sounded strangely familiar.

Aurora replied. Hearing Inagika's words, it immediately clicked. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was Rion's cousin… right? From what Sola had looked up, Rion had apparently been living at her cousin's house for quite a long time. Wasn't her character supposed to be a runaway princess from Cat Planet? Though Sola wasn't sure if living with relatives counted as running away. In any case, she remembered hearing about Nekozuka Rion's cousin. A VTuber's family appearing on stream was a time-honored piece of content, after all. The fact that it had happened on Anna's channel rather than Rion's own had even caused a small stir in the community.

And then there was that intense character. Not to mention her outstanding gaming skills.

Aurora spoke with a voice that carried a hint of laughter.

This… wasn't this completely unfair?

'…At this rate, I'm going to end up as background noise.'

Sola quickly ran through the VTuber knowledge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she had accumulated over the past year. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't recall any cases of 'a VTuber's family member debuting as a VTuber.' There might be some obscure examples if she looked hard enough, but at least among major VTubers, it had never happened. While EYEAI couldn't be called a global giant, it was still a fairly well-known company domestically. And on top of that, Nekozuka Rion's unprecedented transition from VTuber to staff… There was no way this wouldn't become a huge topic.

"At this rate, I'm just going to be an extra…."

Sola felt a sense of crisis rising within her.