NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10
My previous life.
A sturdy 25-year-old man from South Korea.
But now, I’m a 16-year-old Japanese high school girl.
There’s no confusion about my memories or identity.
After my memories returned at the age of 10, I spent almost a year pondering and organizing those things.
Even though I have memories of my past life, I’m still a 16-year-old girl living right now, and I don’t have any particular aversion to living as a girl.
Before I regained my memories, I had lived as an ordinary girl for 10 years.
But I still have memories from my past life, and it seemed impossible to completely throw them away.
So the conclusion was: let’s do whatever I want.
I’m the type of person who enjoys watching one more episode of anime or playing one more round of a game rather than worrying about these things.
Above all, being a social outcast with no friends is the same regardless of the situation…
That’s an unchanging truth and destiny…
“Ha.”
And what I’m currently looking at is one of the many VTuber communities.
─────────────────
[Virtual VTuber Minor Gallery]
[Title: This guy just looks like a successful VTuber, upvote! lol]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
Izumi Kainoh <<< This guy looks like they joined Star's Flow just to satisfy their desires, upvote! lol Starting with me, haha. [Upvotes: 56 / Downvotes: 9] ㅇㅇ: lol for real, the yuri appeal was super natural. ㅇㅇ: Those unicorns' brains got smashed, lol. Pro Unicorn: Somehow, I feel like I’ll make Izumi my favorite from today. ㅇㅇ: Let’s light it on fire!!! … Suzuha: This feels so natural? This is the real deal, ㅇㅇ. Chilho: Natsune and that young lady are in danger… ───────────────── Today, I ego-surfed four places. And my comment of "I like cute girls" was widely accepted as my sincere opinion rather than acting like a VTuber, fortunately, most responses were positive. No, actually, there were a lot of people who were super supportive. Well, the VTuber industry fundamentally treats VTubers like idols. You can see that simply by the success of combinations like Chilho and Ayakari; this industry actually encourages yuri sales to some extent. Of course, there were reactions similar to the post I just saw, but that was more about grabbing attention rather than the same kind of attention that’s been surrounding me until now. Anyway, what I want to say is that I don’t get overly swayed by gender. Even though my identity as a man is much stronger, there’s no problem acting as a girl. However. There’s just one thing. Something I absolutely cannot concede. No, to be precise, it’s not a matter of concession; it’s something that’s physiologically impossible. That’s viewing men as potential romantic partners. In fact, throughout my life before my past memories returned, I never had anyone I liked, and after regaining my memories, it felt quite impossible. Honestly, it’s common sense. Isn’t it obvious that cute, petite girls are much better than big, sweaty guys? Or not. Well, that doesn’t mean I particularly view girls as romantic partners either. I never really had an interest in dating in my past life. But if I had to choose an ideal type for dating, it would definitely be a girl. Of course, I’ve never revealed this story to anyone, including my mom. After all, there was no one to talk to… But my secret will spread widely starting from today’s broadcast. I’m not particularly bothered, but I feel a bit embarrassed. Above all, I think my mom might be watching my broadcast… What should I say if she asks me? “I don’t know.” It’s already happened. Even if I delete the video, it’s meaningless since countless clips are already circulating. If my mom asks, I’ll think about it then, and for now, let’s ponder how I will handle tomorrow’s broadcast. “Should I do a TLQ broadcast again?” It would be better to stick with gaming broadcasts over TLQ. Because I realized today that idle chat broadcasts just don’t suit a social outcast like me. As I start to think about which game to play in tomorrow’s broadcast… Ding!
A text notification rang from my phone.
[Manager: Kainoh-san, would you be okay with scheduling a collaboration with one of the second-generation members tomorrow?]
…What?
★
Star’s Flow is a bad company.
I can say this again and again.
Star’s Flow is a bad company!
Working during Golden Week, demanding ridiculous concepts from a guy like me, and even ordering me to do a collaboration broadcast with my peers this time.
This kind of outrageous behavior can only be explained if Star’s Flow is an evil entity.
It makes no sense to me.
My peers have already been broadcasting for nearly three weeks. No, they are already well-known professional streamers in the community where “previous life” is entirely exposed.
And they want a complete newbie like me, who has only been on air three times, to do a collaboration?
That makes zero sense!
Even beyond that, my peers have probably built their relationships over the past three weeks.
To ask someone like me, a social outcast, to dive into that mix…
…Is tomorrow the day the Earth should end instead?
Am I supposed to just follow their conversation topics and reply accordingly?
If I could do that, then I would have friends!
Isn’t it the same as talking in chat without seeing each other’s faces while on air?
Chat allows me to pick and choose what I want to read!
I can see the future.
The collaboration will bring down the vibe, and if I break that mood, I can see a future where I blurt out nonsense and ignite the community in flames.
No, I have to say no to this.
[Kainoh Izumi: Hey, Manager. About the collaboration tomorrow…]
[Manager: Yes. The opponent is Suzuha.]
[Kainoh Izumi: W-well…]
And the benevolence of the manager’s text conveyed good wishes for my broadcast.
[Kainoh Izumi: …It’s nothing. Thank you.]
Well, if I could speak up at a time like this, I wouldn’t be a social outcast with a communication impairment…
Damn it.
★
My first collaboration partner, Sekuga Suzuha.
Her real name was definitely Komachi Yuyika.
Anyway, Suzuha was honestly the most impressive peer in my memory.
Not to mention, she was an incredibly cute girl.
I’m short.
Last time I checked, I was 151cm, which is far below the average height of 163cm.
Well, I don’t mind since I’m a super cute little girl with my charm, right?!
I still believe I can grow taller?!
…Anyway, I’m short.
So before meeting the second-generation peers, I naturally thought I would be the smallest.
But what do you know?
There was someone shorter than me.
And that was Suzuha.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if it were Yukari.
I had heard from the manager that Yukari’s concept is that of a middle school girl with a complex.
But Suzuha’s concept was that of an angel who ran away from heaven.
When you think of an angel, you typically picture a holy, cool, and beautiful adult woman, right?
But a cute girl who looks 7-8cm shorter than me is an angel?
…Oh, maybe I could say she’s an angel in another sense.
Moreover, Suzuha was the oldest among us.
She’s actually 24 years old, which is 8 years older than me.
That gap was so cute that Ayaka absentmindedly patted her head.
But on the other hand, she claimed to be the oldest and spat out some angelic remarks.
However, Suzuha’s deep purple ponytail, pitch-black eyes, and sharp cat-like face left an enormous impact on my mind, amplified by her age and height discrepancies.
Her being my first collaboration partner?
It might not be bad after all.
Since Suzuha is aware of her role as the oldest among the second-generation members, she’s been the one to talk to me the most.
She even has a nurturing mother-like quality; Suzuha is impressive…
Maybe she could become my first friend in this life…?
★
[Kainoh Izumi☆Star’s Flow @KainoIzumi · 12 min ago]
Today, I’m finally doing my first collaboration with my peer, Suzuha?!
https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX
#Star’sFlow2ndGeneration#KainohIzumi#SuzuhaKoga
★
[【Chat】 Today, I’ll have a conversation with the kind angel… #KainohIzumi#SuzuhaKoga#Star’sFlow]
The broadcast will be held on my channel.
The other peers have already managed to monetize their channels during my two weeks of self-imposed hiatus.
But my number of videos is still lacking, so I’m a bit far from being eligible for monetization.
So, to get through monetization applications faster, Suzuha suggested that we broadcast on my channel.
Suzuha is so kind….
-─(≧▽≦)>IzumiIzumi!
-─(≧▽≦)>IzumiIzumi!
The number of viewers waiting in real-time is about 3,000.
Once the broadcast starts, surely that number will increase.
I have to engage in a dialogue with someone else in front of so many people?
…Am I going to experience my second death today?
“Ugh, ugh….”
[Izumi-chan, are you okay?]
Through the headphones, Suzuha’s voice came through.
Her calm yet gentle voice.
For most people, just this voice alone would ease their nerves and heal them, but unfortunate for me, it felt like another poison.
“Th-that, is it okay? Are you okay? Huh? Is it okay?”
[Try to take a deep breath slowly. There’s still a bit of time before the broadcast starts.]
Following Suzuha’s advice, I slowly closed my eyes and drew in a breath.
I could feel my wildly pounding heart.
“Whoo, whoo.”
When I quietly opened my eyes to look at the monitor, there was a frame hanging with some text.
[Natsune Nanase: Are you okay? If you’re having a hard time, let me know. I’m your senior, so I’ll do my best to help!]
Ah, this feeling of healing.
Even with my trash-level self-esteem, with Natsune’s encouragement, I can endure…
[Have you calmed down?]
“Yes, yes. I feel much better.”
It seemed I could talk at least at the level needed for broadcasting.
[Then shall we slowly start?]
When I glanced at the clock after hearing Suzuha’s words, it was 4:59.
Just as she said, it was time to start the broadcast.
“…Ha.”
After taking a deep breath one last time, I quietly lowered the waiting screen.
“C-conzumi~. I’m Kainoh Izumi, a mood maker dreaming of a world where everyone can smile! A member of Star’s Flow…!”
-High Izumi!
-High Izumi!
-You seem more off than usual today, lol.
-Calm down! Everyone was expecting this result anyway.
And after confirming the flood of welcomes from viewers following my greeting, I continued speaking.
“As I mentioned, today, we’re joined by Suzuha!”
At that moment, Suzuha’s avatar appeared on my broadcast screen.
With knee-length snow-white hair adorned by a diamond-shaped golden ring on top.
And beneath her soft, greenish eyes, the teardrop points grabbed attention.
The silver frilled sailor uniform behind her had small wings fluttering slightly.
With her cuteness matching her smaller stature, she truly radiated a noble atmosphere that screamed angel.
…It feels like purification.
[Suzuha~! I’m Suzuha Koga, the angel who wants to be praised by everyone from Star’s Flow!]
-Suzuha~!
-Suzuha~!
-Let’s take good care of Mei-chan, Suzuha!
-Will Suzuha’s social skills help boost Mei-chan’s communication skills? (´･ω･`)?
…That might not be possible, right?