Ch.34 Collab Stream : "Ranked Match with Suisen-Senpai" ③

The matches after that went well too.

We didn't always win the championship, but we were in the last five teams in most matches and had plenty of kill points.

As someone who has experienced a real battlefield, I just wanted to keep winning though.

When it comes to pure combat techniques like sword fighting and shooting, I'm definitely the strongest.

But as is often the case with this type of game, that alone isn't enough to win.

The only reason I lost was because I lacked the necessary knowledge and experience. 

I feel like I lost in tactics.

Suisen-senpai also worked really hard as IGL.

I'm so sorry.

After I apologize to her, Suisen-senpai shook her head.

"Hmm. There's no need to worry about it at all. The points were already impressive enough nano."

She snorts in high spirits.

"Besides, knowledge and experience are something you acquire naturally if you do it enough. Alphery's 'simple combat technique' -what players like us desire most- is on another level. If you keep going like this, I think you can become even stronger than a pro."

The gaze of pure respect is truly dazzling. I feel like I'm being purified.

: That was a seriously monstrous fighting technique.

: A woman who casually perfoms perfect guard and perfect parry like it's nothing.

: Where did you get that monstrous body?

: Is Alphery actually the strongest?

: This is going to be a huge shock to the pro community, right?

: Don't tell me, is Alphery gonna quit Vtubing and going pro...?

"No, no. My motto is to have fun playing games. I prefer to play in a friendly atmosphere rather than in a serious manner."

I say while waving my hands.

Suisen-senpai also nodded with a knowing look.

"Hm. Serious stuff is fun, but I don't like stiff atmosphere nano."

"It's your fault we lost~."

"What, wanna fight~?"

"Giggle giggle."

: It's hard to believe this is their first collab, they work so well together

: This is… That’s right… That's what they called teetee…

: Sakutan is in trouble!

: The position of legal wife is in danger!

Futaba Sakura : I'm not her legal wife!

: Sakutan's here

: Even though she said that, she seems to be feeling a bit jealous.

: We have the same interpretation.

"Oh? Sigh it can't be helped, Ouka. Shall I sleep in the same bed as you tonight?"

"I'll join you in the sleep-inducing fun too nano."

"Then I'll whisper from the right."

"I'll have the left ear. As Ouka wants it nano."

"I can easily imagine her flipping over like, 'whyy?!'"

"Thanks to Alphery, I'm discovering more and more cute things about Ouka."

"I hope that you'd continue to look after her as a genmate."

"Looking forward to working with you."

We bow our heads to each other.

ー And so the fun and harmonious stream continued like this, until someone came along and ruined the mood.

"You drawing bastards have it easy, don't you? You're not even that funny, but you can make a living by pandering to stupid listeners."

During a ranked match, an opponent said this while laughing out loud.

It's most likely a sniper (participating in a game while watching the stream).

"You're only relying on the power of your drawings," "An inferior version of streamers who show their faces," "A dystopia where ugly people are praising an ugly person who's only wearing a mask," "A stain on the streaming world," "A virtual cabaret club," "Saying things like 'teetee' is gross," "You fakes shouldn't get the wrong idea," etc.

Wow, there were just so many abusive remarks that were unbearable to listen to.

For now, I quickly killed him and reported him.

How foolish of you to do this after having already reached the rank of Master.

I have experienced this kind of jealousy many times in my previous life.

But every time, I paid back exactly double the amount.

Anyway, that's why those insults normally don't bother me, but that wasn't the case for Suisen-senpai.

That's obvious.

After all, Suisen-senpai is a normal young girl.

"Fake..."

It's easy to give a simple consolation by saying, "Don't worry about it,"

But telling someone who is worried about it "don't worry" isn't going to have any effect on them.

They can't help but be worried.

"It's not weird for one insult to hurt more than ten compliments."

"Alphery..."

Suisen-senpai, who had been looking down, raised her head.

As we face each other, our eyes met.

"That's just our nature. It can't be helped. However, Suisen-senpai has received not ten but over a hundred compliments. Don't forget that you have a hundred times more fans than haters."

: That's right.

: Cheer up Sui-chan

: Well said, Alphery.

: Or rather, there are still idiots out there who say stuff like that, huh? .

: Well, it's common for idol VTubers to be the target of unsuccessful streamers' jealousy.

: Even though real skills are still needed, all things considered.

"Exactly. In the first place, even if a streamer has good talking skills or playing skills, if they aren't discovered, they will be buried in this industry. The people who can roll a six on the dice at important times are the real talent."

For example, passing the audition for Prisma Ark.

In my mind, a talented person is someone who eliminates luck as much as possible and then attracts luck at the very last moment.

It's exactly like doing your best and leaving the rest to fate.

Yes. It was a proverb that just popped into my head, but I never thought it would fit so perfectly.

When you think about it, the people who came up with proverbs must have been really great people.

Humans are so good at expressing themselves in words.

"Don't forget that you've worked hard to get to where you are today. The only person who can understand what you've accomplished is you. There's no way that what you've accomplished is fake."

To that conclusion,

"--Nn, thanks nano."

Suisen-senpai narrowed her eyes and smiled.

However, after that, she occasionally found hermself thinking deeply about something, and in the end, she was unable to regain the same form she had before.

◇◆◇

"I'm sorry about today. Even though we finay do a collab, I ended up ruining it nano."

After finishing the stream and returning to her My Room, Suisen-senpai bowed her head again.

The fact that she reiterated the apology she had made in front of her listeners makes it clear that she is very worried.

"Don't worry about it. It was just bad timing today."

"But……"

Then, as Suisen-senpai looked down apologetically, some sort of notification sounded.

Suisen-senpai opened the window and checked the contents, then looked back and forth between me and the window.

After thinking about it for a while, she timidly opened her mouth.

"ーAlphery... Uhm, there's something I want you to hear nano."

She looked anxious.

While she musters up her courage.

"Yes, let's hear it."

I sat back to back with Suisen-senpai.

It was the same with Kikyo-senpai, but at times like these, it's easier to open up the knots of your heart if you have the warmth of a human body.

I listened to what Suisen-senpai had to say, feeling the warmth of her hand across my back.

◇◆◇

Suisen's mother was an idol.

However, she was an underground idol who had no success at all.

She has never filled a live house or been in the center position.

She's been dancing on the sidelines for years, a supporting actor among supporting actors who never even got a proper solo part.

In the end, she was fired by her agency and retired in disappointment - the story of an ordinary idol.

The majority of people who fail will lament their lack of talent.

But Suisen's mother was different.

There's no way I won't sell.

This is wrong.

It's people with real talent who should be the ones selling.

I'm definitely prettier than those ugly girls on TV.

Those bitches must have spread their legs.

What's so good about that plating?

A fake. A fake. A fake. A fake.

Suisen's mother was very proud and had a high opinion of her own worth.

Yet she was an extremely self-centered and keep blaming other people, with absolutely no self-reflection whatsoever.

When it comes to idols, seasonality is everything.

By the time she was fired from the agency, Suisen's mother was already past her prime.

The barrier of age made it impossible for her to look back on it herself.

But her obsession with idols.

Her desire for revenge against those who had not seen her true colours burned brightly - and so Suisen's mother decided to impose a curse called a dream on her daughter.

At the time she made this decision, Suisen's mother was not even pregnant, let alone had a daughter.

In fact, she didn't have a husband or even a lover.

And even sexual experience.

Yes, Suisen's mother only wanted a daughter to fulfill her own ambitions.

There is no love, and she doesn't even know what romance is.

From among her fans, she chose a man who was rich and good-looking - a perfect match - and thus Suisen was born.

No love, no affection, no bond.

There is no doubt that she was born out of desire.

 ーHowever, only as a vessel for her wishes.

The education was thorough.

She had already made a plan for what kind of idol she wanted her daughter to become when she was a baby, and she poured her passion into her instead of love.

At that time, there was a demand for eccentric individuality.

It was so chaotic that even naive and rude people became content.

So in order to help her show a unique individuality, she wastaught to use the first-person pronoun "Setsu (拙)" and if she showed any joy, anger, sadness, or happiness on herr faces, she was mercilessly physically punished. (TL note: Yeah, she's been using that pronoun from the start)

The lack of change in Suisen's facial expression is due to the abuse she suffered as a child.

In other words, the reason why Suisen's first-person pronouns and speech endings sometimes become a little too obvious is not because of her role as a Vtuber, but because it's just her natural self.

The life of the young girl named Suisen was a role given to her by her mother.

She didn't allow her to go to school, only taught her biased information, and made her believe that what she said was always correct, creating an artificially eccentric girl.

And while her excessive lessons are still going strong, she would whisper Suisen the following every night.

[Become a real deal. Become a real deal. Become a real deal. Become a real deal.]

ーLike that.

Even though she herself cannot even tell the difference between real and fake.

The silver lining for Suisen was that her father woke up.

He realized that this was wrong and chose his daughter over his wife.

They got divorced.

And by exposing his wife's actions, it was easy to win custody.

Although Suisen was now freed from her mother, that did not mean she was saved.

The brainwashing education given to her by her mother was her norm.

Having gone to school without any common sense, Suisen quickly became the target of persecution and bullying.

Suisen doesn't know what went wrong.

She doesn't understand what other people are saying.

Everyone calls her "weird," but Suisen doesn't understand what is "weird" about her.

She doesn't know what "normal" is.

Because that's how she was designed to be.

Idols are raised to be "abnormal" because they can't live a "normal" life.

After she stopped going to school, Suisen started roaming the internet.

This was due to her father's advice that she should interact with a large number of people, even over the internet.

And it worked.

Suisen started playing games, she started using community tools, and little by little she learned common sense.

She realized that her environment was abnormal.

That's why.

Suisen, who had simply followed her mother obediently, began to remember her mother's words.

She began to do what everyone does naturally: look back on the past.

She began to question her reason for existing.

She was born only because of her mother's wishes.

Is there any point in abandoning that role?

Is she the real deal?

Is she a fake?

The reason she became a Vtuber was because, like any other "normal" girl, she was obsessed with Vtubers, and the reason she chose Prisma Ark was because she thought she might find her answer there.

But she can't find the answer.

To begin with, Suisen didn't even know what her mother meant by real and fake.

That's why she started chasing after shining people.

To make a comparison whether her current self is a fake or not.

Just as she was thinking that,

[Thank you for coming to watch my first stream and first concert. Once again, I'm Alpheria Linker, an isekai TS Vtuber affiliated with Prisma Ark. Nice to meet you.]

Like a shooting star.

Anyone can see it - She's the real deal.

◇◆◇

 Suu... haa.

 Suu... haa.

 …….

 ………….

 ………………!

 ーSo heavyyyy!!!

What is this? I don't like this.

Dude, I didn't think something this heavy would pop out!

Even Kikyo-senpai was pretty bad, and I didn't think she could surpass her so easily!

Li〇k! Liiiiii〇k!

Now I understand your feelings very well.

There's no way I could see through something like this!

I feel like I've been slammed with a big really check to the comment that there's no way manga characters like "Fushigi-chan" exist in the modern world!

“…Alphery. Do you know what is fake and what is real?”

Timidly. 

Suisen-senpai confesses what she has been holding deep in her heart.

I guess she's been searching for the answer forever.

Maybe that's why she likes shining people.

 ーHmm.

I change my mindset and start to think.

The words came quickly.

"That's right. First, let me talk about my other problem and my philosophy on life."

"Another problem?"

Suisen-senpai tilts her head.

"About the reason for existence. Suisen-senpai said something like, is there any meaning to my life if I couldn't fulfill my mother's wish? But ーwell, let me put it plainly. You don't need any reason whatsoever."

"Eeh……?"

"It has nothing to do with your mother. Your life belongs to you and yours alone. Even if you're a parent, you have no right to say anything about how you live your life. Toxic parents will say things like, 'I owe you for raising me,' but kids shouldn't care. They should live their lives the way they want."

Raising a child is a natural responsibility of parents.

This is not about borrowing and lending favors, what kind of scam is that?

"You know what manga characters say? 'There's no point in living if I can't achieve my dreams' or 'This is all I have'. Those are typical lines from a brat in the prime of their youth."

Hmm? I see that my old bad habit is saying hello.

But considering this child's past, it's not surprising that she would be influenced.

“That’s a big lie, so don’t take it seriously. The majority of people in the world are defeated warriors whose dreams have been shattered.

In fact, there are more people who just live their lives without any dreams.

Although they lead unremarkable lives, they are still relatively happy. 

As long as you can survive. 

You can be very happy just by working moderately, earning moderate amounts of money, and living moderately doing what you love.

Nobody there is thinking about their reason for existing.

Even if they found one, they'd probably forget about it within an hour.

That's all there is to it. There's no such thing as a reason for existence."

And I continue.

"There are people who don't need a reason to care deeply about Suisen-senpai .

As long as you're alive, that's enough for them."

I reunited with my family after two deaths.

My beloved friends who died in my previous life.

I have never asked the people I care about for a reason to exist, and I'm sure the same is true for them.

"I don't really get it. Is that how it is...?"

“This is merely my personal philosophy on life. But as someone who has been through a lot, I think it holds some substance.”

It would be a different story if she had been completely denied by everyone, but from what I've heard, it seems like her father has regained his sanity.

The only thing binding Suisen-senpai is the curse from her mother.

If that's the case, I think talking about insights from a different perspective can be somewhat of a medicine.

"And the difference between real and fake is... well, that's also pretty simple."

"Really?"

This question about authenticity sounds like something a character in a manga would say, but the matter in this case is not that complicated.

In short, it comes down to whether it sold because of their ability or because of their hardcore fan.

This is a typical move of an unpopular idol.

"But it's better to have an actual experience than looking for the answer."

"? Actual experience?"

 I smiled cheekily and held out my hand.

"Yes. Because this is the perfect stage for you. So... let's become the real deal from here."

――――――――――

Yukino Suisen

【Profile】

Birthday: December 24th

Height: 149cm

Age: 15

Hobbies: Internet & games

Special skill: Singing and dancing 

Main streaming content: Games

Singing ability: B+

Expression: B+

Dance Ability: A

Idol Power: B

Charisma: C

Talk power: D

Player Skill: A

Academic Ability: C 

Poker Face: A

[One-line survey]

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: It's sweets nano.

Q: How do you spend your holidays? 

A: Surfing the internet nano.

Q: If you were to compare yourself to an animal? 

A: A dragon nano! (Even though she's supposed to be a half-beast (the rest is omitted) ) (déjà vu)

Q: Why did you become a Vtuber?

A: I thought I could make a decision on a number of things nano.

Q: What are your thoughts on the collaboration?

A: I had the most fun ever. Alphery was my soulmate nano!

*These two are by far the most affected by internet memes.

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Author's note:

Being in sync with the main character means that she could also get along well with Sakura (Ouka), it's just that Sakura (Ouka) is too introverted.