The Promotion Match's Unavoidable Reunion

Masina—real name Kim Ga-ram, a VTuber affiliated with Serenade KR—was screaming at the top of her lungs during her promotion match. "Look! I told you I'd run into Aurora for sure!"

Masina was in the middle of her promotion match, sitting at exactly two wins and two losses with only one game left. The moment she hit that record, a wave of dread washed over her. What if I match against Aurora in the final round? And sure enough, during the ban-pick phase, the opponent locked in the Phantom Thief.

The calm voice belonged to Vincent. Thanks to Sina's outburst, he had finally agreed to duo with her.

"No, seriously, Oppa. She's actually really good, you know?"

[So who exactly is your oppa here?]

Vincent let out a small sigh. He made a point of putting up a strong wall whenever he interacted with female VTubers. The thicker the wall, the better. Even the slightest connection was enough for people to start shipping couples. While some fans shipped them, others came to protest—especially Sina's more extreme unicorn fans, who would sometimes show up to insult Vincent. They had probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already called Sina things like "a slut who gets involved with male VTubers." Sina never showed that it bothered her, but Vincent couldn't help worrying. Their different nationalities only made him more cautious, and Sina's habit of acting overly friendly didn't help either.

"Anyway, I came prepared this time! Aurora, get ready! Our great Vincent is going to teach you a lesson!"

[You're not the one teaching the lesson, though.]

Vincent selected his character with a bewildered tone. Once all the bans and picks were done, the loading screen appeared.

"……Huh? Wait…, how did it end up like this?"

***

After singing one song, I immediately queued up for ranked. That was my first time singing it, but it went better than expected. I had been confident enough to try, but the smoothness still surprised me. Probably because it was in French. Truthfully, French felt more familiar to me than Japanese. Because I'm a noble duchess, after all. The language system ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in "that world" had been closer to French. Maybe that was why I could understand it after hearing it just once and felt I could sing this song with confidence.

Still, as a VTuber, I should probably practice a few Japanese songs too. I hadn't paid much attention since singing wasn't my main content, but now that I was a VTuber, completely separating myself from singing seemed difficult. There would be times I'd need to record MVs like during the Stigma Observation event, or do karaoke collabs like this one. I had also heard there were things like VTuber concerts.

Appearing at external events like the "VTuber Music Fest" to sing two or three songs, or holding a "one-man live." Especially one-man lives were said to be the pinnacle of VTuber content. Maybe I should practice in my spare time. I was a little interested in live events. The idea of a ducal daughter dancing and singing on stage felt novel, but I was a flexible duchess, after all. Experiencing idol life even indirectly once would be nice. While I was walking the path of a VTuber now, not long ago I had been considering female cam streaming, pro gaming, or idol activities. This would be a good opportunity to experience one of those paths indirectly.

At the same time, doing a one-man live with just us 6th generation members wouldn't be bad either. An AoiS one-man live. That sounded pretty good. Sora would definitely want to do one. Chell, who was VTubing for survival, would definitely participate. Inagika probably wouldn't refuse either. To make that happen, I need to build up our fame first. Hosting a one-man live would require a lot of money and manpower. Our 6th generation would only be able to do it if we were judged to have "profitability." There was no need to overthink it. We just needed to gain more popularity than we had now. One way or another.

And so the final promotion match in Gate Attack Mode began. Strictly speaking, it might not actually be the final match. If I lost this one, I'd have to play another. Of course, I had no intention of losing. Sora, Chell, and Anna were probably singing their hearts out right now—I needed to finish this quickly and free them. Though even after this promotion match, I still had the Single Combat mode rank climb ahead of me.

"Hello!"

As I entered the game, a female voice rang out. Players who started games with greetings were fairly common. What was unusual was that the voice belonged to a woman. Most modern games allowed voice filters. Labyrinthos in particular leaned toward a male-oriented game, so plenty of people used filters to hide their gender.

"You're Aurora, right? I'm watching your stream!"

She approached me. Worn clothes, a red cloak, and holding nothing but a wooden stick. But there was one peculiar detail: a flying object hovered around her. It was unmistakably a dragon, flapping its wings. Though it was only about the size of a puppy—a baby dragon. The dragonling flew around with a sword wrapped in its tail. A Dragon Knight. The only character in Labyrinthos without a passive skill, and perhaps the highest-value character in the game.

"Oh my, are you a fan of mine?"

I smiled brightly. It happened occasionally. Ever since my VTuber debut, I'd run into fans in-game like this. When our eyes met, the Dragon Knight smiled back.

"Yes, I'm a fan. Good luck!"

After giving a polite bow, the Dragon Knight moved away. That was a little unusual. Most fans I met in-game tried to talk more or acted shy. Her reaction was refreshingly straightforward. I glanced at the username floating above the Dragon Knight's head.

"Aha."

A fellow professional. And a name I recognized. To think that a VTuber from the famous conglomerate Serenade was my fan. Well, it couldn't be helped. I'd charmed yet another person. My talent was truly terrifying. This was the first time I'd met a colleague like this in-game, and it felt novel, but it didn't change what I had to do. As usual, I broke away from the main group.

Since the chat was distracting, I made it smaller and kept walking. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The Phantom Thief was a character that stole enemy weapons. In other words, until they stole something, they were unarmed. You could pick traits to start with throwable daggers or other small items, but I hadn't bothered. Even with those, the Phantom Thief's early game was still weak. Without using Steal, you had no weapon and couldn't hunt neutral mobs. Essentially, you were just a walking ward until you encountered an enemy—and without detection skills, even finding enemies was difficult. At least the mobility was fast. In the end, just like when I played Dark Knight, I skipped all the neutral mobs and ran around the map searching for the enemy main force.

I was planning to play Dark Knight or Berserker, though. Since it was a promotion match, I'd wanted to use characters I was more familiar with. But both had been banned. How coincidental.

If I'd been careless, I would've been hit. Of course, as a ducal daughter, I wasn't about to let my guard down during a promotion match. In other words, there had never been any room for problems to begin with. I'd picked traits that detected danger precisely for moments like this. I grabbed the dagger blade aiming for my neck. Steal. After snatching the dagger, I swung it immediately.

"Aaaah! Seriouslyyy!"

The assassin who had tried to ambush me backed away with an annoyed shout.

"How did you notice?!"

"Greetings, Lady Sina."

I straightened my posture and gave a proper bow.

"Fancy meeting you here again. It's a pleasure."

"I'm not happy at all, you know? It's a promotion match!"

"Oh my, is that so. Same here."

I made it clear I had no intention of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yielding. Masina. I'd heard from viewers that she was a VTuber from Serenade KR. After running into her several times while climbing ranks these past few days, we'd started talking a bit.

"Stop playing games already! Go outside! Get some fresh air! I don't want to see you!"

"Is that so? I'm delighted to see you, Lady Sina. Especially since I win every time."

"Ugh! Show some respect for your senior!"

After saying that, Masina suddenly vanished. She'd used her stealth skill. I could sense her presence circling around quickly, making it hard for me to pinpoint her location. Apparently Masina's VTuber concept was a "sealed demon lord." Her lisping voice and imprecise pronunciation, combined with a loli-style avatar, seemed to go over well with viewers who liked that "cute" vibe. Her speech and behavior were adorable, but she didn't really feel like a senior. Still, her Diamond rank skill was undeniable.

Whoosh! Masina threw several poison needles. At the same time, she tossed a shuriken into the air. Then, with explosive speed, she spun around and charged at my flank. In that brief moment, she'd executed three moves. If I dodged the needles, Masina would attack from the side. If I blocked her attack, the shuriken would follow up. It was a technique only possible at Diamond rank. To that, I had one thing to say: if you were going to do this, you should've done it the moment we met.

I threw the dagger I'd stolen earlier upward.

-Clang!

The incoming shuriken collided with the dagger and bounced away. While dodging the needles, I immediately charged toward Masina's direction. Masina drew a new dagger and tried to stab my abdomen, but I grabbed her arm. Then I executed an over-the-shoulder throw.

"Kyaaaaaaa?!"

-Thud!

Masina's back slammed into the ground. I immediately snatched the weapon from her hand.

"Good work. Any last words?"

"…I really hate you."

"Is that so."

-Stab!

I drove the blade into Masina's neck.

"What a shame. I was quite fond of you, Lady Sina."

I said it with a smile.

"…Hmm?"

Why were there so many kill logs?