NOVEL NEXT Chapter 344
Christmas was just around the corner.
It was my fourth Christmas since starting my VTuber activities.
And it was the first Christmas after my return.
So, it was only natural that I made a resolution to absolutely do a broadcast on Christmas!
After all, I didn’t want to let my precious Izutomo’s chicken go cold.
…Well, to begin with, I’m not that busy to have other plans on Christmas.
At most, I might have a collaboration broadcast scheduled, right?
So, maybe I’ll do a collab on Christmas Eve and then have a casual chatting broadcast on Christmas Day.
I really didn’t have any games I wanted to play recently either.
Of course, that can only happen if collaboration proposals come in…
If none come in, then I’ll have to do a regular broadcast, but what content should I do?
Recently, many Izutomo wanted me to do a singing broadcast, but that felt a bit embarrassing.
ASMR broadcasts are out for the same reason too.
Well, I already know there are plenty of Izutomo who’d be happy just to have a broadcast on a special day like Christmas.
But still, I want to do something that feels appropriate for the occasion…
While pondering this, I heard a DM notification from Miscode ringing in my ears.
[Kaguya Aoba: Izumi-senpai, do you have any collabs planned for Christmas?]
[Kaguya Aoba: If not, I’d love to do a collab with you…]
[Kaguya Aoba: If possible, let’s do an off-collab.]
The person in question was my junior, Kaguya.
“…Hmm.”
Recently, it feels like I’ve been collaborating too frequently with the Atlas members.
I wonder if that’s okay?
I’ve never seen Izutomo who hate it on Ego Surfing, so…
It’s not like I do a collab every day either.
But on Christmas Day, I really want to be alone for my broadcast…
[Kainoh Izumi: I think Christmas Day will be a bit difficult, but Christmas Eve should work.]
[Kainoh Izumi: How about you, Kaguya?]
[Kaguya Aoba: Yeah, I’m good too!]
And thus, my Christmas Eve off-collab with Kaguya was set.
★
“Woohoo!!!”
Aoba’s joyful shout echoed.
She was more excited than ever about collaborating with Izumi on Christmas Eve.
She had won the intense Rock-Paper-Scissors contest held by Atlas, but there was a chance Izumi might already have another collab lined up with a different member.
Though Aoba thought about that, fortunately, no other members had proposed a collab to Izumi yet.
It was a close call since immediately after Aoba secured a collab with Izumi, she received collaboration proposals from Rinze and Ichika from the first generation.
In any case, Aoba was thrilled to collab with Izumi this Christmas.
And the content Aoba prepared was…
“Making a Christmas cake with Izumi-senpai…!”
Cake-making for Christmas.
★
“Making a Christmas cake, huh?”
[Yeah! I’ve prepared all the ingredients, so Izumi-senpai just needs to show up!]
“Uh, um… I have a question, Kaguya…?”
[Yes?]
“Does making a cake on stream mean… that we’ll be turning on a camcorder?”
[That was the idea… I suppose.]
No way.
A camcorder broadcast…
I would’ve outright refused that from the start…
I personally don’t like turning on a camcorder while broadcasting in real life.
Actually, to put it simply, I dislike it.
It’s not that I’m scared of being filmed or photographed, it’s just that it goes against my perception of VTuber rules.
I believe being a VTuber is an amazing profession that shows dreams to fans in the real world, as residents of a virtual environment.
Sure, many VTubers have done camcorder broadcasts, and there are members within Star’s Flow who do them as well.
I’m not saying they’re wrong.
It’s just that I personally dislike it.
[…Do you dislike camcorder broadcasts, Izumi-senpai?]
As I hesitated to speak, Kaguya seemed to have guessed my thoughts and cautiously asked me.
And I slowly affirmed her query.
“Yeah. It’s not just that I dislike it, but… um, how should I put it? We are VTubers, after all… Ah! It’s not that camcorder broadcasts are wrong, okay!”
[Ah, I get what you mean. It’s like your personal belief or something.]
“Yeah. Something like that…”
Fortunately, Kaguya seemed to understand what I was trying to say.
[Hmm… Then should we prepare something else?]
“Uh… But you’ve already prepared all the ingredients…”
Kaguya replied with a “Well, that’s true…”
If all the ingredients were ready, it meant a lot of money was spent, and the thought of giving that up because of me made me feel incredibly guilty…
“Isn’t there another way? I wouldn’t want to just let it go like this…”
[No, no! You don’t have to feel sorry, Izumi-senpai. It’s my fault for not discussing what kind of content we’d do beforehand. I can use this later with Sakuya.]
“Ugh….”
Am I an idiot?!
Even if Kaguya suggested the collab first, she could’ve at least asked what we’d do!
I need to guide Kaguya as a senior…!
There must be a good method…
“…Ah!”
[Yes?]
“How about this? Instead of making the cake, I can prepare what’s needed from behind, and the rest is handled by you, Kaguya…”
This way, I won’t have to show my hands on the camcorder.
Of course, this might fall as an additional burden on Kaguya, which she might not like…
[Oh? Is that okay? Really?]
“Yeah. That much should be alright with me.”
…Actually, I think I kind of like this.
Thank goodness…
★
“Haah, haah, haah…”
After finishing the call with Izumi, Aoba let out heavy breaths.
“Really? I’m making a cake with Izumi-senpai? Me? Together?”
Originally, the Christmas cake-making collab Aoba had suggested wasn’t about making the cake together.
Aoba had thought of a content where they each make one cake using prepared ingredients and have fun comparing their tastes.
But with that made impossible, Aoba was now contemplating, “Should I just make a cake in advance and chat while eating…?”
[How about this? I can prepare what’s needed from behind, and the rest is handled by you, Kaguya…]
However, Izumi suggested a different approach to Aoba.
Instead of each making a cake, Izumi proposed they make one together.
“So this means… Izumi-senpai wants to collaborate with me, huh? Does that mean we’re close?!”
As a result,
Aoba felt more excited than ever.
Almost to the point of delusion.
“To think Izumi-senpai would want to collaborate with someone like me. She’s such an angel. More of an angel than Suzuha-senpai. Just as angelic as Sakuya. I really like her. I like her. I like her. I like her.”
Of course, Izumi’s proposal to Aoba stemmed from not knowing the exact content.
Because Aoba hadn’t mentioned they’d each be making a cake, Izumi assumed from the start that they’d be making it together.
And doing that would inevitably mean Aoba’s hand would be visible on the camcorder, which Izumi absolutely didn’t want.
So she thought it would be better for her to handle the annoying prep work and leave the decorating for Aoba to show on camera…
“But if we make the cake together, we’d have to do a cutting scene too… Wouldn’t that mean the camcorder would catch Izumi’s hand too? What do I do? Should I turn it off only then?”
But utterly unaware of this truth, Aoba was already in a frenzy.
“How many days until Christmas? A week? …Am I really going to suffer through this hellish reality for a week? I want to die… But if I get through it, I can make a cake with Izumi-senpai… But living through a week like this… I really want to die… I haven’t… No, if I die, I might not recover in time for when Izumi-senpai comes, so I’ll hold on. Yes. I’ll hang in there.”
And unfortunately, there was no one around to save her from this frenzy.
★
[Kaguya Aoba☆Star’s Flow
@KaguyaAoba · 2 min ago]
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!
I’m making a Christmas cake with Izumi-senpai!
Everyone, gather up!
⇩The wait is here!!!⇩
https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX
#KaguyaAoba #KainohIzumi #Star’sFlow #ChristmasCake
★
【Aoi Cooking / Camera】 Off-collab! We’re making handmade Christmas cakes together!!! #KaguyaAoba #KainohIzumi #Star’s Flow
– Glory to Atlantis!
-─(≧▽≦)>ZumiZumi!
– Glory to Atlantis!
– Glory to Atlantis!
– Can’t wait for your handmade cake!!!
“Then, I’ll leave the camcorder here… and if Izumi-senpai stands here, she won’t be seen.”
“Ah, okay.”
“The ingredients are here, so feel free to use them, senpai. If you run out, you can check the refrigerator over there.”
Nodding at Kaguya’s words, I looked at the cake ingredients laid out in the kitchen.
Eggs, sugar, flour, strawberries, whipped cream, etc.
All the ingredients needed to make a cake.
“But, Izumi-senpai, have you ever made a cake before…?”
“I haven’t. Ah…! I made macarons once before.”
To be honest, I wasn’t very confident either.
After the collaboration was decided, I heard various things from Miyauchi and Suzumichi, but this would be my first time making anything on my own.
“Hmmm. This is my first time too… Do you think we’ll be okay?”
“When it comes to this, I think the important thing is to enjoy it!”
…Oh.
Did I just say something really senior-like?
“Yeah, that’s definitely true, right?”
And it seemed Kaguya felt encouraged by my words and smiled brightly.
Sure enough, I’m a second-generation!!!
Because I’m a senior!!!
“…Speaking of which, this means it’s both of our first experiences, right? Hehe….”
“Huh? I-Izumi-senpai? What do you mean by that…?!”
“Yes?”
…Did I say something weird?
“Oh, it’s nothing. Yep…”
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like that was the case, as Kaguya chuckled and caught her breath.
“Children of Utopia! It is I, the ruler of Atlas, Kaguya Aoba! Applaud me!”
And finally, our off-collab with Kaguya began.