Who Gives Birth?

My glamorous day had come to an end. I was currently being scolded. Together with Rion. In the president’s office, no less.

The man in front of us was Jung Ho-young, the president, wiping sweat from his forehead. He had been sighing heavily for a while now.

“Miss Oh Lora, do you have any idea what you did yesterday?”

“Yes, of course I am well aware.”

“The fact that you did it even though you knew makes it even worse… Just where in the world is there a VTuber who starts streaming before they’ve even debuted?”

Then I suppose I shall be the first. The original precedent.

Instead of saying that, I simply offered a graceful smile. The president let out yet another deep sigh.

“Fine. It was entertaining, I’ll give you that. Betting your own retirement on a keyboard battle with the viewers… I have to question whether this content is even sane.”

My broadcast yesterday had been so provocative that it seemed to have become a hot topic across multiple communities. Thanks to that, my subscriber count was climbing rapidly. Of course, if I had lost that argument miserably and been forced to retire, the story would have been different. But there are no “what ifs” in history.

I had won. I had survived.

“You’re quite good at verbal warfare. Do you have experience?”

“I am a duke’s daughter, after all. It is quite common for noble ladies to exchange verbal blows at social gatherings, you know. Women are such creatures.”

“…Did you attend an all-girls high school?”

I had simply told the truth, yet the president interpreted it differently. Unfortunately for him, I had attended a co-ed school.

He stared at me with a strange look before letting out a helpless chuckle.

“Under normal circumstances I would have to discipline you, Miss Oh Lora. However, since the results were positive, I will let it slide. We’ll be keeping the archive up as well.”

“That’s unexpected. I assumed you would make the archive private.”

“I desperately wanted to. But the response has been so good that we’ll leave it. …It seems we can market you as a no-holds-barred VTuber, Miss Oh Lora.”

“No-holds-barred? One would be hard-pressed to find someone as elegant and well-mannered as I.”

“I’m not talking about superficial etiquette. I mean your true nature… There have been VTubers like that before. The kind who casually talk about genitalia on stream, who openly discuss their periods, who claim they haven’t showered in a week…”

That isn’t being no-holds-barred. That is simply being filthy.

“In any case, there are VTubers who suddenly go full throttle. And those people gained quite a bit of popularity doing exactly that, so your current character should work just fine.”

“How rude. I am a person far removed from vulgarity, yet you place me on the same level as them.”

“If only you weren’t so good with words, you wouldn’t be so infuriating… In all my years, I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Miss Oh Lora.”

The president turned his gaze away from me and toward Rion, who had been standing silently at my side. Rion flinched when their eyes met.

“Miss Rion, are you aware that if a VTuber fails to end their own stream, the manager can remotely terminate it?”

“I am aware…”

“Please keep a close eye on Miss Oh Lora so she doesn’t go too far out of control. You are her manager, after all.”

“I will keep that in mind…”

“And Miss Oh Lora, although you did start streaming, you have not officially debuted yet. Therefore, do not turn on your stream again until Saturday.”

“Understood.”

“…Do not turn it on under any circumstances. Absolutely not. If I see you streaming before then, I will not let it go.”

The president emphasized his warning once more. He was looking at me as if I were some kind of rampaging beast.

“Then you may leave now, Miss Oh Lora. Miss Rion, you may return to your duties.”

And so we finally escaped the president’s office.

“Sister, you go home first. …I’ll probably be working overtime for a while, so I might not be able to come home for some time.”

“Hm? Is there another problem?”

I wasn’t exactly sure what a manager’s job entailed, but now that the controversy surrounding me had been resolved, Rion should have had some breathing room. She had been busy collecting data all this time, but now there was no longer any need for that. So shouldn’t her workload have decreased? Yet Rion shook her head.

“A PV was just uploaded to your channel, Sister.”

“It was.”

And it had drawn quite the crowd. When I nodded, Rion spoke in a weary voice.

“But if a PV is only uploaded to your channel, it would look strange, wouldn’t it…? So I have to make PVs for the rest of the sixth generation as well.”

“You’re doing all of that by yourself?”

“Yes… All by myself…”

Rion hung her head.

“Sister, shall I burn the company down?”

Rion gave a bitter smile. I later learned that her voice had carried all the way into the president’s office. She had said it right outside the door.

In this cold, modern society, Sora had heard that people once shared close bonds with their neighbors. To her, however, it was a story that didn’t feel real. Come to think of it, she had never once spoken with the person next door. This was her first time pressing their doorbell.

—Ding-dong.

“Who is it?”

The door opened and a woman in her forties appeared. It was a face Sora had seen a few times while taking out the trash. The woman seemed to recognize Sora as well, because she didn’t look particularly wary.

“Hello. I live next door.”

“Yes, yes.”

“I recently installed soundproofing panels. I was wondering if the performance was noticeable. Have we been noisy at all?”

“No, it was fine.”

“That’s a relief~.”

After asking a few more questions, Sora left. Next, she headed to the unit above hers. Since she was already at it, she decided to ask the unit below as well.

“Aaa.”

While going up and down the stairs, Sora tested her voice.

“I probably shouldn’t eat on Saturday.”

She muttered the words to herself. People with sensitive throats were advised not to eat or drink much on days they had to use their voice. Just that alone could make a difference in vocal condition.