Chapter 13: Ryo and Moka-P and the End of the Stream

“Entrance reached!”

When he returned to the dungeon entrance, Ryo suddenly looked at the drone.

“Come to think of it, you said something would show up if I pressed this spot on the drone’s head, right?”

As he moved closer from the camera side and reached for the switch on the drone, the comment section went wild.

Unaware of that, Ryo abruptly remembered what Kaoru had explained beforehand and touched the switch.

A holographic window appeared above the drone, displaying the comment section.

“Oh, something popped up.

Actually… there were a lot of comments coming in, weren’t there……”

: Huh
: Wait
: You didn’t notice?
: What
: You haven’t been reading them this whole time?

“Ah, yes.
Sorry.
I really wasn’t looking at them at all.”

Seeing the comments that flooded in immediately after displaying them, Ryo apologized on impulse, and the chat filled with laughter symbols like “w,” “lol,” and “haha.”

“If I can make excuses… um, Moka-P said it was the first stream and there was a high chance there wouldn’t be any comments… so, um… I forgot.”

: It’s fine
: Well, Moka-P wasn’t wrong either
: For a first stream, Ryo-chin’s was pretty lively
: Dia-chan is mostly to blame
: I didn’t know much about Otsuno Dia either, but the live commentary was hilarious
: She kept yelling the manager’s name because she wanted Sharkdile
: Yeah, Dia-chan going wild definitely had an impact
: Isn’t commenting about another stream here considered pigeon-ing?

“Huh?
Dia-san was doing commentary?
Also, what is commentary?”

: Going wild on Warbler while watching a stream
: Is Ryo-chan the type who’s bad with internet culture?
: It’s posting real-time impressions on social media while watching a video
: Ryo-chin feels pretty unfamiliar with streaming stuff

“That’s right.
I wasn’t interested at all, but Moka-P forced me using chicken as bait.
Also, thanks for explaining commentary.
I understand now.”

: Moka-P GJ
: Moka-P has a good eye
: Using chicken as bait lol
: Thank Moka-P
: Chicken again lol
: Ryo-chin really likes chicken, huh

“Why is he getting praised so much?
Ah, I do like chicken.
Especially fried.
Like karaage or fried chicken.”

: Thanks for the new door-opening low voice
: Love the low voice when you call Moka-P ‘that guy’
: Thank you
: Ryo-chin isn’t used to net culture, so go easy on them

Feeling confused by the sudden thanks and overwhelmed by the pace, Ryo decided to ask directly.

“This seems hard, responding to all the comments.
How does everyone usually do it?”

: You don’t have to pick up everything
: Just respond to the ones that catch your eye
: No need to force it during exploration
: Just glance enough not to mess up
: It’s nice when you respond, but it’s fine if you can’t

“Ah, I see.
So I should respond within what I can see, and answer what I can answer.”

: Ignore rude or aggressive comments
: Malicious comments called trolls are best left alone
: There were actually a few today
: Probably because Ryo-chin wasn’t reading comments, they disappeared fast

“So that’s a thing too.
That sounds difficult.”

: Don’t overthink it, just have fun
: When people increase, it happens
: [Moka-P] I’ll handle anything really bad
: Moka-P is here!
: Moka-P appeared

“Why are you commenting here?
You could’ve just sent it on Linker.”

As he muttered with half-lidded eyes, the comment section heated up again.

: Thank you for the low voice
: Yes, the low voice is great
: [Moka-P] I’m testing a few things too
: What is Moka-P to Ryo-chin?
: [Moka-P] Think of me like Ryo’s manager
: OK
: Got it

With Moka-P’s appearance, the comments got even livelier.

Also, Ryo still didn’t know what people meant by “the low voice is great.”

: [Moka-P] Well, exploration’s done, and we even got some unplanned ending talk
: Oh, is it ending already?
: I want to hear more from Ryo-chin
: [Moka-P] Ryo, let’s do the closing greeting
: Ah, it’s over
: Too bad
: That was fun
: Looking forward to next time

Nodding at Moka-P’s comment, Ryo turned his gaze back to the drone camera.

“So, Moka-P told me to wrap it up, so I’ll do that.”

: Nooo
: More
: We want the low voice

“Thank you for watching my first stream.
I’m happy that more people than expected seemed to watch.
Um… was there anything else?”

: Sounds stiff lol
: Suddenly stiff
: It was like this at the start too lol
: Feels like reading a template
: Did Moka-P give you cue cards?

“Huh?
Does it sound like that?
It’s completely ad-lib though.”

: That makes it funnier lol
: You’re way too stiff lol
: Bad with set phrases lol

“Anyway, I’ll wrap it up like this.”

: Forced ending lol
: Feels like there’s more you should say lol
: [Moka-P] Ryo!
Promote properly!!
: [Moka-P] Ask them to favorite and subscribe!
: [Moka-P] You’ve got a Warbler account too, tell them about it!
: [Moka-P] I explained this beforehand!!
: Moka-P lol
: That’s it
: Ryo-chin lol
: You have to promote

“Oh right, that.
It seems like that kind of thing.
Please do what Moka-P said.”

: So rough
: I did both and followed the Warbler account
: Same
: [Moka-P] Say it with your own mouth!!
: lol
: Moka-P is having a hard time
: Already did
: Do your best, Moka-P
: lol
: Looking forward to next time
: Good luck
: lol
: You two, do your best

“Then, I hope to see you again next time.”

He bowed slightly, and the comment section filled with farewells.

Being seen off with such regret made Ryo a little happy, and then he suddenly realized something.

“By the way, how do I stop the recording?”

Standing right in front of the camera, he started checking the switches on top of the drone.

To avoid getting in the way, he turned off the holo-monitor and looked up at the top, and the comments quietly exploded.

: Eeeh!
: Unprotected close-up is the best!!!!
: Thank you thank you
: This is amazing!!!!
: [Moka-P] Alright everyone, we’ll end the stream from this side
: This is good
: Oooooo
: Just a bit more
: Just a little more!
: Wait wait!!
: [Moka-P] Then we’ll see you in the next stream.
Bye
: Mean!
: Moka-P useless!
: Please!
: Aaaaaaaah

=== This stream has ended ===

Ryo hadn’t touched anything himself, but when he saw the holo-window on top of the drone display the words “Stream Ended,” he let out a big breath.

Feeling a different kind of fatigue than usual exploration, he started doing some light stretches.

After stretching for a while—

“Good work.”

Hearing a voice from the entrance, Ryo turned his head that way.

The drone flew in the same direction.

“Huh?
You came back.”

The one who caught the drone was Kaoru.

“Yeah.
I knew you’d be here.”

He implied that as long as Ryo was here, even if a monster wandered into the entrance, it would be safe.

“Still, even if you’ve gotten friendly enough to chat often on Linker, I wish you wouldn’t mention presents for Dia during the stream.
That made me panic a bit.”

“So there are adjustments like that, huh…
Even if I didn’t know, that was a bit careless.”

“Well, at that level it’s manageable.
Just be careful next time.”

Checking the drone’s condition in his arms, Kaoru walked over to Ryo.

“Putting Dia aside…
How was it?
Your first stream?”

“Mm……”

Asked that, Ryo relaxed his usual blank expression just a little and smiled.

“It was… fairly fun.”

That was the honest truth.

He hadn’t been watching the comments during exploration, but from the light exchanges near the end, it seemed people had enjoyed it.

More than anything, while quietly diving in was fun, explaining things to people who probably didn’t know them wasn’t bad either.

“That’s good to hear.
Then, while you’re still in a good mood, let’s go to Baktoria and have a reflection meeting.”

When the name of a Chinese-style family restaurant chain came up, Ryo’s eyes lit up.

“Can I order yurinchi?”

“That was the deal, right?
If you stream, I treat you to chicken.
Though for today, just one yurinchi.”

“If I can eat meat with someone else’s money, even one is plenty!”

Ryo clenched his fist, and Kaoru smiled wryly at him.

The two of them left the dungeon together.