NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4
First, I quietly muted the microphone.
– So now the conversation is completely gone?
– You can’t even hear breathing.
– Breaking news. Star’s Flow second generation, Izumi Kainoh, missing just one minute into her debut broadcast.
– It can’t be helped. Let’s just graduate like this.
– The impact is unreal lol
“What to do.”
For a moment, I tried some ego surfing on a few communities including the narrator, and as expected, it was on fire.
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[Star’s Flow second generation, Izumi Kainoh, atmosphere maker (can’t talk)]
[At least do some minimal RP lol]
[This is a little fresh]
[Fresh or not, is this allowed on day one?]
[Star’s Flow is at a trash company level lol]
[Starting with an Yeo-sang dD]
─────────────────
Well, thankfully it doesn’t seem to be a huge fire.
[Manager: Izumi? Is there a problem with your equipment?]
It feels like I’ve already messed up from the start, but fortunately, the manager didn’t fuss about it too much.
Real pros are so kind.
“…”
Before I knew it, more than five minutes had passed with the mic muted.
And for some reason…
– So what kind of broadcast is this?
– No clue.
– But the board looks really pretty, doesn’t it?
– That’s why I keep watching without realizing.
The live viewers were continuously increasing.
I would have preferred it if the number of viewers had decreased a bit instead.
Anyway, I wanted to end the broadcast just like this, but I guess I shouldn’t.
[Manager: Izumi, please start again quickly.]
The manager is urging me too.
“Phew.”
Right. I haven’t done anything wrong, so there’s no need to be scared.
After all, everyone watching my stream here is just outcast otaku like me.
Let’s be confident.
“Ha.”
After taking a last deep breath, I unmuted the microphone again.
“I’m s-sorry! There was a problem with the equipment for a moment!”
– No way!
– Anyone can tell you muted the mic because you were scared.
– But at least your voice is normal this time lol
– Already clipped as a VTuber who ruined her debut stream.
“R-really?”
Aren’t you all a bit too quick to judge…?
I really hate getting a bad image…
– So, are you not continuing the broadcast?
– A-Actually, I-I am s-s-sorry!
Come to think of it, I immediately muted the mic right after greeting at the beginning of the stream.
I hadn’t progressed at all.
“Okay! Then, let’s start with self-introductions.”
– I’ve never seen someone be so anxious right from self-introduction.
– Where’s the atmosphere maker in this?
– Just erase that setting from your mind.
– If you erase settings in a VTuber, what’s left?
– For real lol
Ignoring the chat, I displayed my organized profile on the screen and slowly began to introduce myself.
“Uh, I look forward to working with you all.”
– That was unexpectedly a neat self-introduction.
– Starting with a blaze and then smoothly transitioning to such a neat self-introduction, what a talent for broadcasting!
– But that bit in the middle could’ve been better…
– For real lol Do you think VTubers are easy to handle?
– How would you mess up so much right from the start?
“T-there was nothing that went wrong in the middle, right?!”
Stop trying to create material to roast me.
“Then from now on, I want to decide my, um, fan name and several other things.”
I had several fan names in mind, but I thought they seemed a bit tacky, so I planned to get suggestions from the viewers instead.
Being unable to mingle with other outcasts, I still end up overly conscious of people’s gazes.
I hope it gets decided as an awesome fan name like Natsune’s eighth star.
– Let’s just pick something random.
– Just go with Izutomo and wrap it up.
– I like that.
– Simpler names are better than complicated ones.
For some reason, though, the name that someone casually typed and passed on got a surprisingly good reaction in the chat.
Why?
I had been concocting something cool like “Water’s Servants”.
“Uh, um.”
– So we’re Izumi’s first friends?
– Seems fitting since a self-proclaimed atmosphere maker would need friends.
– I-I’ll be Izumi’s friend…
…This flow can’t be flipped.
With 40 years of trained outcast instincts, I could tell for sure.
“Th-then let’s go with the fan name Izutomo. I mean, I’ll go with that.”
– Good.
– I thought it was going to be a boring stream at first, but it’s actually fun to watch.
– The feel of a sandbag hit is awesome.
– I want to hit it daily lol
Somehow, my viewers are being way too harsh on me right from the first day.
I wish they’d be a little kinder…
Before I knew it, thirty minutes had passed since the debut broadcast began.
[Manager: Please start preparing to wrap it up, Izumi.]
Since the manager said that, I guess it’s about time to start wrapping it up.
“Uh, then I’m thinking of ending this… Is there anything you’re curious about? I’ll answer a few from the chat.”
– What’s your motivation for applying?
– Why did you apply when you can hardly speak?
– How did you end up applying?
“My motivation…”
If I said my mom told me to try applying, and I did so impulsively after contemplating, that would definitely burn me.
Let’s think this through.
I’ll come up with a plausible reason that’s worth nodding at.
Being oblivious is an outcast’s base skill, but after 40 years of life experience, I should at least be able to come up with something decent.
…Maybe.
“Uh, can I be honest?”
– So were you planning to lie?
– Treat your viewers with sincerity.
“W-well, it’s not like that! Anyway, like, um, everyone probably caught on to my trash-like RP right from the start today, right? I-I mean, I’ve never had a friend in my life, not a single one! A super high-level outcast, y’know? I can’t even make eye contact when talking, and I stutter, and, I’m not good at reading the room, so it’s all natural, right?”
– That’s a bit sad.
– We’re sorry.
– This isn’t what we wanted to hear.
– I was expecting to hear some passion about being a VTuber.
“T-there’s no lack of passion for being a VTuber! No, uh, um. Anyway, I just thought since I’ve been watching YouTube alone as always, it had been a while since I talked to anyone, so…”
– I’m sorry about that.
– I’m not that bad, though lol
What’s this? The same viewers who seemed harsh until now suddenly started to be kind.
Of course, it’s a somewhat sad story for sure, but maybe it feels kind of nice.
“Hehe… So I thought if I became a VTuber, at least I could form some connections.”
– But think about it, isn’t this RP completely broken?
– Finally coming to that?
– Seriously though, if you erase the setting in a VTuber, what’s left? lol
– I mean, you must’ve at least had an interview. You knew what kind of person she was, yet you gave her this concept?
– Impressive, Star’s Flow!
– For real lol
“Ah, I totally agree with that. Honestly, I feel like I didn’t give a single decent answer during the interview, so the fact that I passed is surprising. I was thinking they were trying to kill me based on the settings.”
– Now you’re not even trying after being polite anymore.
– Atmosphere maker (total outcast loser).
– The charm lies in the garbage RP.
– The stuttering in between is kinda cute, isn’t it?
– I kinda agree…
“Still, uh, either way, I’m Kainoh Izumi, so! From now on, I’ll be active, um, and work hard on my broadcasts!”
My goal from today is to become a growing VTuber.
I still believe a little bit in the saying that the environment changes a person!
– Make sure to rewatch the debut broadcast in a year.
“Ah, I really don’t want to do that. I think I’ll cry from embarrassment while watching it…”
– Then cry.
– I want to see you cry.
Why did they return to being harsh viewers?
I was looking forward to a much kinder world…
“Then, I’ll take the last question and wrap it up.”
– What’s a recent anime you’ve enjoyed?
“Ah, I’ve got one! The Dark Uncle’s Survival!”
– Oh, that one’s fun.
– Out of the recent ones, that was the best.
‘The Dark Uncle’s Survival’ is about a typical office worker uncle, Satoru Satoru, who is transported to another world and struggles to survive.
I followed the manga from the first episode and jumped for joy when it was confirmed for an anime production.
“Right! Especially the quality of the battle scenes in the final episode? You could really feel Uncle Satoru’s desperate sincerity, it was so touching! Not to mention the emotional line shown in the conversation with the heroine in the middle? They totally surpassed the original from the manga in the animation, it was so touching. I rewatch it almost every week. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet…”
As I shared the excitement, I unconsciously began to ramble on about it, only to get hit with these chats.
– Whoa, she’s the ‘real deal’, not just a concept.
– Explaining casually while trying to maintain the RP is even more frustrating lol.
– The fact that she’s not even stuttering while talking means she’s for real…
Reading those chats, I quietly sealed my lips and ended the broadcast quietly.
Without any closing comments.
– The whole ending is legendary.
– I look forward to Kainoh Izumi, the Yeo-sang master, in the future.
And later, during a phone call with the manager, I could hear her sigh more than ten times.
But no matter how I think about it, the blame lies with Star’s Flow.
Don’t you all think the same?
★
“…I definitely attracted attention.”
It’s obvious, but Star’s Flow is the most noted company in the current VTuber industry.
No one else but Natsune herself is part of this company, so it’s to be expected.
To put it in relatable terms, before the debut broadcast, the total subscribers for the second-generation channels, including mine, exceeded 50,000.
Anyway, a rookie from such a prominent company messes up big time right from day one?
Naturally, drawing attention and Yeo-sang would happen.
Over 80% of the current VTuber community topics were about me.
Of course, it was a chaotic mess with people trying to uncover my ‘previous life’.
Unjustified insults mixed with comments that weren’t too bad.
Plus, aggro gathered from other places.
Seriously a mess…
But it seems the company sees this situation quite positively.
[Manager: This is actually the best time to grow.]
If these kinds of aggro lead to capturing viewers, it could directly result in channel growth.
I was thinking the same, and indeed, at present, I had the most subscribers among the second generation.
Though, it wasn’t a massively significant number, just a few thousand difference.
“Should I do a game broadcast tomorrow…?”
If there’s anything that fits me right now, it’d surely be a game broadcast.
There’s no need for excessive talking, just a pretty girl playing games is enough to earn compliments from the male outcast otakus!
I have some confidence in my skills too!
Alright, then what game should I play?
“…This one will do.”
As I browsed through the list of games I had downloaded in advance, I discovered the game right away.