Chapter 56
Chapter 56
The sound of a vacuum cleaner echoed through the house.
Recently, Leon had been working overtime so frequently that running the vacuum cleaner had become difficult. Using it late at night would surely annoy the neighbors.
Thus, Sora was vacuuming during the day.
"...What exactly is your reason for being here?"
I asked, resting my chin on my hand.
"What did you say? I couldn’t hear over the vacuum cleaner."
"I asked why you came to my house."
"You said you were falling behind on house chores, and it was bothering you."
Sora responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I couldn’t help but sigh.
Even though I enjoy being pampered, this situation felt unnatural.
After all, who actively volunteers to clean someone else’s house?
"...You said I should show some sincerity."
It seemed like my gaze made her blurt out the words.@@@@
"I didn’t exactly say it like that, though."
"You hinted at it with your tone, didn’t you?"
"Let’s leave it at that. So?"
"I... felt a bit guilty."
Sora turned off the vacuum cleaner.
"You didn’t charge Anna when you taught her, did you?"
"Did Anna say that?"
"Not directly. But when I watch her casual streams, I can kind of sense it."
I later found out that Anna had said something like, “Laura is an expensive lady!” on her stream.
On top of that, I had appeared on Anna's stream back when I wasn’t a VTuber. Some viewers speculated that I must have received payment for those appearances.
"But I’m learning from you for free."
"That’s true."
"So, I figured this was the least I could do."
"Honestly, this is a bit much. You’ve gone too far."
"...I know. And also, I just wanted to visit my friend’s house, so don’t worry about it."
With that, Sora turned the vacuum cleaner back on.
Then, as if remembering something, she turned it off just one second later.
"Have you had breakfast? If there’s anything you want to eat, let me know."
===
OK, calling in for half-day leave.Good thing I quit my job for moments like this, lol.Why even work? You could be like me, living off your mom’s money and watching the stream leisurely, haha.Why did Sora even go to Laura’s place, lol? ᄂ Obviously, to have a little fun. ᄂ Weekday couple life. ᄂ What the hell is a 'weekday couple,' lol?Self-awareness, as expected from OP, haha.The smartest among the dumb fanbase.Why are you so smart? Harvard student?
It seemed like Sora wanted me to give the viewers a proper greeting.
But I had never prepared anything like an opening line.
"You don’t have one? Then what about 'How are you?' or 'Good afternoon'?"
"That’s just what the viewers came up with."
"So you don’t do introductions either...?"
I nodded.
I later learned that there’s an unwritten format for VTuber streams.
For example, Nekozuka Leon’s "Nyan Nyan Nyan! I’m the cat-eared princess from the cat planet, VTuber Nekozuka Leon, nya!" is a typical opening line.
After saying a unique greeting like "Nyan Nyan Nyan," the VTuber would introduce themselves with something like, "I’m the cat-eared princess from the cat planet, VTuber Nekozuka Leon, nya!" This seemed to be a common practice among VTubers.
Apparently, Sora also had an opening line: "Ah, mic test. Can you hear me? I’m EYEAI’s 6th-generation bard VTuber, Ayano Sora~."
Even Chell had a set greeting: "Hello. I’m EYEAI’s 6th-generation Chell Sumeragi. Nice to meet you."
But I didn’t have one.
And that’s because...
"Isn’t it a bit embarrassing?"
What was Leon thinking when she came up with such an opening? Even as a noble lady, I couldn’t muster the courage to do something like that.
"Are we seriously going to start the stream like this? No opening line, no introduction, no guest intro...?"
"We already started, so what can we do now? The stream title says that Sora came to my place. We’re supposed to pick a game to play together, but actually, I’ve already decided on the game."
-? -???? -Host already made the decision? -So well-prepared, haha. -Wait, why name the stream like that if you’d already decided? -Haha, aristocrats don’t care about commoners’ opinions, lol. -For real, lol. -"You shall simply follow my will." -Is it Labyrinth again?
"It’s not Labyrinth. I know Sora would want to play that, though. Right?"
"...Yeah."
Sora nodded slightly.
"There are only two weeks left until the tournament, so I thought we should practice more."
"I saw a VTuber recently playing a Mahjong stream. A professional Mahjong player appeared on the stream and said this: 'Playing 100 rounds mindlessly is less effective than playing one round thoughtfully.'"
Just playing endlessly isn’t always productive.
Especially in Sora’s case.
A lack of physical skill is only a secondary issue. Since everyone in the upcoming tournament is gold rank or below, it’s not a big deal if your mechanics are a bit off.
The bigger problem is that her playstyle is more emotional than rational.
She easily gets swept up in the situation, and when her mind races ahead, her teammates can’t keep up.
This isn’t something that can be fixed by simply playing more.
"So, what should I do?"
"I think you should first learn how to stay calm. That’s why I prepared these games."
I displayed the game options on the screen.
【Party Play Time 1, 2 & 3】
【In Last 1, 2 & 3】
【Teddy’s Pizzeria Series】
【Alien: Isolation】
【Biotic Hazard RE: Series】
【Biotic Hazard 7 & 8】
【Darkness Deception Series】
"Pick one."
LRAB