Dry Eye Syndrome
"Is this even possible???" Rion shouted, her voice filled with shock. "What's the gacha rate on this thing? Three percent? Three percent and you pulled four of them?"
"That's why I told you, dear. There would be no fun in it if I were the one rolling."
I took a sip of black tea. Rion immediately poked my arm.
"Hey, sis. Let's just drop a whole truck on it."
"The way you say that, one would think 'truck' was someone's dog's name."
"Hmm."
I had not intended to fish for donations.
"Then I suppose I shall pull until I get the pickup character, at least."
After all, I am a VTuber. Since I had received so much, it was only proper to roll that much in return.
Laura Iris. This body of mine is, in many ways, quite different from that of an ordinary person. After all, it is a vessel that literally emerged from within a game. Most notably, it possesses immense physical strength. For ten years I cut down monsters in the flesh. Having cleared numerous gates and been exposed to the demonic beasts and the magical energy that permeates them, this body possesses truly monstrous power.
It is much like how, in an RPG, even a level 100 mage who has poured every single stat point into intelligence will still have strength far exceeding that of any ordinary person. The same applies to luck. Is it because I inherited the blood of the Iris ducal line? Or because I am a villainess? Perhaps both.
I have always been strong when it comes to misfortune. The worse my luck, the better it becomes, or so it feels. It is not exactly to my taste, however.
Was the story designed around a villain who keeps reappearing no matter how many times the protagonist defeats her? Even after being thoroughly beaten and cast aside, dark forces approach her. Even after being captured and thrown into prison, an opportunity for escape arises. Even after being run through by the protagonist's blade and killed, some mysterious power resurrects her. There are always villains who cling to existence with disgusting tenacity.
I suspect Laura Iris was born with exactly that sort of fate. But really... would it not be smarter to simply avoid being driven into a corner in the first place?
If I must use a metaphor, it is like surviving alone even after one's entire clan has been wiped out. Yet no matter what sort of miraculous comeback opportunity appears after losing everything... it is far wiser to simply protect what one already possesses.
That is why I have never considered myself lucky. On the contrary, I believe this is a curse. Suppose a mortal enemy appears before me as I face death. If, while cornered, I hurl my sword and somehow drive it into my enemy's heart, is that physical skill or mere luck? The very act of pondering such things is unpleasant.
People say that luck is also a form of skill, but victories won through luck always leave a sour aftertaste. Any human being would naturally prefer a victory that feels good, would they not?
"Whoa... that's insane. Five five-stars off the pity counter!?"
Rion was making a huge fuss beside me. Chell's eyes were wide as saucers, and the chat was exploding with reactions. It seemed that after a long stretch of terrible luck, the sudden surge of fortune at the end gave it a certain addictive thrill.
I, however, remained utterly indifferent. The act of "testing my luck" is something I cannot do. If I charge two hundred pulls, the first hundred and ninety will be garbage, and the final two hundredth pull will yield the jackpot. The outcome is essentially predetermined. In the end, it is no different from simply buying the item at full price.
Because I already know the result, I feel none of the heart-pounding excitement unique to gacha games. This is precisely why I dislike them. Still, since everyone seems to enjoy it, perhaps this is the completion of a world where no one gets hurt.
With a sigh, I dialed Inagika's number.
[Lora...?]
"Say 'Lucky Inagika Jana' for me, won't you?"
[Ehh... that's embarrassing...]
"Are we not friends?"
[W-well... f-friends... y-yes! We're friends...!]
"Since we're so close, just do it once."
[O-okay... Th-this is totally L-Lucky Inagika Jana...!]
-Click.
I ended the call with Inagika. That aside...
Wasn't this supposed to be a story-progression stream?
How on earth had it turned into a gacha stream?
After rolling more than enough gacha, we finally moved on to the story.
"Huh? There aren't any voices for this?"
Rion tilted her head as we began Chapter 1.
"Blue Record doesn't have voice acting for the main story," Chell explained.
"But the prologue had voices, didn't it?"
"Only the prologue is dubbed."
That was Chell's answer. Blue Record has no voice acting for its main story. I do not know the exact reason, though I can make an educated guess. Mobile gacha games released before Blue Record, such as Girls' Frontline or The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage, generally did not feature full voice acting for their stories. At the time, it simply was not common practice for mobile games.
The only fully voice-acted mobile story game I know well is Princess Connect! Re:Dive. I have heard that some titles skip dubbing to keep the story pacing fast, so Blue Record may fall into that category. In any case, the lack of voice acting was a shame, but it was not entirely a bad thing.
For certain VTubers, it had become an advantage, and Chell was undoubtedly one of those reaping the benefits.
"We shall! Protect our daily lives! Protect our freedom! Awoouuuuu!!!!"
It was one of Blue Record's most famous scenes, the moment the protagonists summon a monster to defend their everyday lives. Chell delivered the line with her voice raised dramatically. It was a passionate performance. Though her face remained expressionless, her voice overflowed with intensity.
Of course, it was not identical to the original character's voice. Still, by slightly adjusting her tone, pitch, and timbre, she had brought it quite close to the source material. If the actual characters were to speak those lines, this was probably what they would sound like.
So this is why Blue Record streams are so popular.
Most VTubers have voices suited for anime-style performances, after all. Reading nothing but text can become rather dull. When sudden dubbing is added, it feels as though color has been painted over the ears. VTuber dubbing is generally a step below professional voice actors, yet some VTubers make vocal performance their main content. For them, Blue Record must have been a hidden gem.
"It stopped being hidden quite a while ago. The Japanese server had major corporations running ads with VTubers," Chell told me later.
It seemed VTubers had become quite an important marketing tool. In any case, I will refrain from spoiling the story, but I could understand why Blue Record received such high praise for its narrative. The proof was that Rion had been reduced to tears.
"Hic... those kids are so pitiful..."
Tears rolled down Rion's cheeks. Her eyes were red and swollen, with clear tear tracks running down her face. As I watched her sniffle, I savored my fragrant black tea.
"It seems you found it quite entertaining."
"Yeah... I thought it was going to be a bright and cheerful story, but then it suddenly got so deep... I was surprised."
"It certainly was. There have been many games praised for their stories, but it has been a long time since I encountered a mobile game with writing this strong. The themes were excellent."
"They really were..."
"Due to time constraints, we shall stop here for today. Let us continue the unread portions of the story another time."
"Should we pick it up tomorrow? I have remote work again tomorrow."
"That would not be a bad idea. Then..."
"Why aren't you crying?"
While Rion and I were sharing our impressions of Blue Record, Chell suddenly interjected.
"What are you saying, dear? Rion cried so much I began to worry she might develop dehydration."
"Um... yeah, she probably won't have to worry about dry eyes for a while..."
"Did you have dry eye syndrome?"
"Doesn't every modern person suffer from it?"
"But Lora didn't cry at all."
Chell stared at me pointedly.
"Were you not moved?"
"I was moved, of course."
"Then why didn't you cry?"
Because it had not been enough to bring tears to my eyes. It was not that my emotions had dried up. However, in noble society, tears can sometimes become a weakness.
I am the daughter of the Iris ducal house and was once the designated heir who would lead the family. A ruler must not be swayed by trivial personal feelings. The virtue of a monarch is to read the world on a grand scale. Therefore, I had thoroughly trained myself to feel joy, sorrow, and fear in my heart while never allowing them to show on my face.
Rion seemed to think, "It's nothing new for my sister to be so cold-blooded," but that was a misunderstanding. She also appears to believe I fear nothing, yet I too feel fear and tension. On the battlefield especially, fear is necessary. Too little tension leads to mistakes, and too much tension also leads to mistakes. Thus, I simply do not show it outwardly. There is no need to correct the misconception. Being thought of as someone without blood or tears is more intimidating, and that slight difference often brings victory on the battlefield.
"As long as one is human, everyone possesses emotions," said the person who appeared least likely to have any.
"I'll come again tomorrow. Goodbye."
With those words, Chell bowed politely and left my room at once, even leaving behind the phone she used for avatar tracking.
The next day, Chell came to our house again, this time carrying a copy of Clannad.
EYEAI's CEO, Jung Ho-young, let out a deep sigh.
"...Is there really no other option?"
The sound of Rion sniffling. The sound of Laura calmly sipping from her teacup. And occasionally, Chell's voice chiming in. All of it played from his phone.
"Shouldn't we choose from the sixth generation?" Manager Lee Jung-woo added.
He already knew that, of course.
"If we use a sixth-generation member, we can't leave out Aurora, right?"
"Wouldn't that be fine? It seems Aurora is the one closest to Chell."
It seemed fine, yet it also seemed not fine. CEO Jung Ho-young found Aurora difficult to handle. On the surface she appeared gentle, yet was there any other VTuber so troublesome to manage? Still, it was fortunate that she had caused no major incidents since her debut.
Yet he could not shake the feeling that the people around her were gradually becoming stranger. Was it only his imagination?
She must possess something that influences her surroundings.
Whether that was a good thing or not, Jung Ho-young turned the matter over in his mind again and again. No matter how rationally he considered it, the answer remained the same. If they were to select someone from the sixth generation, they could not exclude Aurora.
"Let's go with Aurora and Chell, then."
CEO Jung Ho-young made his decision. On his desk lay the document titled Winter Voice Sales Proposal.