Never Trust a Woman's Tears
1.
The second I dropped that toxic chat, the reactions came flying back like seizures.
"Ah— no…!"
"H-how could anyone say something so cruel…! Wh-who is that!?"
I said nothing. Neither did Aura or Heukrangi.
A chat popped up right after. Watching it, I felt the corner of my mouth curl up.
Someone else who'd been watching quietly jumped into the chat. Probably Heukrangi or Aura, I figured.
Not about to get outdone, I hammered the chat just as hard.
"U-uwaaah! That's so mean—!"
"We're doing our best too, you know!"
The healer duo sniffled and whined.
"Hic… uugh…."
"Wuuuuh…."
Three insults landing in a row must have really stung. Now I could hear outright sniffling and crying.
"Hey, hey, why are you crying…!"
"Th-that's right. D-don't cry…!"
Heukrangi and Aura scrambled to soothe the healer duo, but honestly, even that rubbed me the wrong way.
"Do not trust a woman's tears, for it is in her nature to weep when things do not go her way. — Socrates."
"Are you actually a psychopath, Bullet?"
"M-me? Why would I…!?"
I jolted and answered in a fluster.
"Hey. 4885. That's you."
"N-no it's not! How could I ever say something that cruel…!? S-Socrates… that— that guy is a real piece of work…! Th-that's straight-up misogyny, isn't it… u-unnie!?"
Moments like this, you had to push even harder. And honestly, the whole situation was already getting on my nerves.
"P-please stop—!!!"
"O-okay. Okay, I get it…! Uwaaah!"
They must have felt the real intent behind my threat, because the healer duo's tears dried up soon enough.
"Sniff… I-I'm sorry… I-I've never been yelled at like that before, so I think I was a little shocked…."
"As 4885 said… we kind of ruined the mood… I-I'm sorry…."
"Th-that can happen. That 4885 is a real piece of work…! I think I know who it is, but it might cause them trouble, and there are rules, so I won't say any more…!"
"Who even is 4885."
"The thief whose feet burn, I guess. Hmm…."
"Shameless bitch…."
Heukrangi muttered under her breath. I heard every word.
"Th-then let's make a new lobby and talk things over again…! A-and I think we need to change the method a little… y-you can't keep trying to guess who everyone is like that…!"
"You're not just saying that 'cause you got caught, right?"
"Huh? I was just being considerate of Heukrangi…?"
"Crazy bitch…."
We made a new lobby and unified everyone's nicknames and icons. No point leaving room for anyone to get singled out.
"Th-the supports already got roasted as a package deal… I-I mean, received feedback… so next, I-I'll take my turn getting evaluated…."
Before it had been indiscriminate fire. This time, it was more like hauling people up to the chopping block one by one.
I still had a lot left to say….
I smacked my lips. I'd had plenty more stored up for the healer duo, so wrapping it up like this felt a little unsatisfying.
"P-please write everything in casual speech… a-and post it on my cue… one…."
Honestly, I wasn't that worried.
Whether it was the Red Forward Base or the Crystal Mining Area, neither match would have even been close without me carrying my ass off.
Heukrangi or Aura, maybe. But the healer duo? Those two clearly couldn't trash-talk me. They had their stream images to protect, and more than that, both of them looked soft-hearted as hell.
"Three!"
"Mm."
It stung, but I nodded along for now. It was true enough.
"Hmm…."
I wasn't acting like I'd mastered it. I just actually knew a little more.
Still, this wasn't bad. The insults were mild. They knew it too — that I was this team's hope!
All that was left was the healer duo. Probably.
They'll go soft, for sure.
"Umm…."
W-wait… that's weird… both of them already spoke, right? Why is there still more…?
Th-that's true, but….
I forced my trembling hands into a clap.
"Okaaay, th-that's enough…! M-more complaints about me than I expected… s-still, I-I'm f-feeling g-good right now… i-inside… sniff…."
My voice shook.
"Uhhhh?"
"Hey, don't tell me you're crying? After saying all that?"
"N-no, I'm not."
Tears welled up for no good reason.
"I must just be a little nervous, m-my voice is shaking… sniff…."
I was actually fine. But my body apparently wasn't.
"Y-you don't have to worry about me… l-let's move on… sniff…."
"Do not trust a woman's tears, for it is in her nature to weep when things do not go her way. — Socrates."
"Wuuuuh…."
"They're actually running the mirror strat here?"
"Waaaaah!"
Socrates — that guy really was a misogynist…!
"………."
Once the anonymous evaluations of each person were over, the voice chat fell into silence once again.
"S-so… we've gotten everything off our chests for today…? E-everyone's clear of any leftover… resentment or anything, right…?"
"You look like you've got the most."
"N-no I don't…."
It was a little hurtful, but well — all of it was true. And if you really thought about it, it wasn't me who'd gotten roasted. It was the past owner of this body.
So it's fine. Yep, yep.
I nodded and decided to move on.
"S-so I've been thinking a little…."
"You? Thinking?"
Heukrangi's jab made me bristle.
"H-Heukrangi, you of all people — the one who ran her mouth without thinking and ended up on hiatus — saying that to me is…."
"You fucking bitch. You said all the resentment was gone."
"Y-you started it first…."
"So what was this 'thinking' of yours?"
Aura couldn't take it anymore and cut between us.
"I-I carefully read through the Fall of the Great rules, okay? And looking at them… there aren't any restrictions on swapping roles within a team…?"
"That's true. But why does that… wait, you don't mean—?"
"Yes. Exactly…."
I nodded.
"H-Harumong…."
"Y-yes!?"
Harumong was the younger of the two VTubers on the healer duo. She'd mainly played damage-dealer before, but for this tournament she was competing as a healer.
"L-let's swap positions with each other…!"
Harumong as a healer was a dead end. That was the conclusion I'd reached…!