Chapter 6: They Came to Watch My Stream!
[Gyudon-chan: Haikawa-san, I came to hang out!]
[Nanzan: Good evening, Haikawa-san. Thank you for helping me earlier.]
It seemed those two had already stopped by his stream using their alternate accounts.
It had been a long time since he’d received normal comments, and the happiness made him respond immediately.
“You really came!”
“I’m seriously happy!”
“Take your time and enjoy the stream.”
Comments were incredibly rare on his channel.
Spam messages appeared occasionally, but actual viewer comments usually numbered somewhere between zero and barely countable.
[Gyudon-chan: You sound a little different from earlier.]
[Nanzan: What kind of game are you playing right now, Haikawa-san?]
Talking differently on stream compared to real life was completely normal.
Even Eris and Minami felt slightly different when speaking in person compared to when they were streaming.
“My way of talking isn’t that different.”
“It’s an action game, but the controls are hard to get used to.”
[Gyudon-chan: Action games, huh? I’m actually pretty good at those!]
[Nanzan: I don’t have much experience with games like that, but if you recommend it, I’d like to try playing it.]
Mitsuhashi Eris streamed all kinds of games.
Action games were no exception, and she was quite skilled at them.
Kitagawa Minami also streamed games, but she spent slightly more time doing singing streams and answering viewer questions.
Both girls also did educational streams where they learned trivia and knowledge from various fields alongside their viewers.
Recently, many Happy Relay streamers had begun creating that type of content.
“I wouldn’t recommend this game.”
“It’s not quite garbage, but the controls are awful and frustrating.”
[Gyudon-chan: You actually call games garbage on stream!?]
[Gyudon-chan: You’ll never get corporate sponsorships like that!]
[Nanzan: We’d never be allowed to say something like that on our streams!]
[Nanzan: Amazing, Haikawa-san!]
“As if I’d ever get sponsorships.”
“I’ve only got fifteen subscribers, remember?”
“If either of you said the stuff I say, your viewers’ eyes would probably pop out of their sockets.”
“Hahaha.”
Famous VTubers and streamers generally couldn’t afford to say reckless things.
But that restriction didn’t really apply to small-time streamers like Haikawa.
For famous streamers who earned hundreds of thousands of yen per video, or received Super Chats worth millions during a single stream, getting their channel suspended would be a major disaster.
But if a small, unknown streamer got suspended, the damage wasn’t nearly as severe.
There was also a much lower chance of attracting troublesome people.
As a result, they could often speak more honestly and even say things that might be considered rude.
There was a kind of entertainment value unique to unknown streamers that famous streamers didn’t have.
The strengths of a major streamer and those of a nobody streamer were entirely different.
“Come to think of it, you two are basically gods living above the clouds in the streaming world.”
“Lady Gyudon-chan.”
“Lady Nanzan.”
[Gyudon-chan: Don’t ever say that where other people can hear it!]
[Gyudon-chan: It’s fine since we’re the only viewers right now!]
[Nanzan: Personally, I believe Haikawa-san is the more amazing person!]
[Nanzan: Please don’t call me Lady, even as a joke!]
“Sorry, sorry.”
“Anyway, let’s keep going.”
Since nobody else was watching, he felt free to say whatever came to mind.
Still, NanzanâKitagawa Minamiâhad an inexplicably high level of trust in him.
Sure, he’d helped her out of a difficult situation.
But he never imagined that alone would make her like him this much.
“By the way, what are your streams usually like?”
“I’ve barely watched either of your channels.”
“Actually, there are tons of things I want to ask.”
[Gyudon-chan: Can’t talk about that here.]
[Gyudon-chan: If it stays in the archive, someone might identify us.]
[Nanzan: Even if it were a request from you, Haikawa-san, I couldn’t answer that here.]
[Nanzan: Earlier would have been a different story.]
“Right.”
“Sorry.”
That question was so inappropriate it was almost dangerous.
They were incredibly famous VTubers.
There was no telling where risks might come from.
Happy Relay probably had countless rules and warnings for situations like this.
“Hey, hey.”
“Do you think my stream is entertaining?”
“Personally, I think it’s pretty good.”
[Gyudon-chan: We’ve only been here a few minutes!]
[Gyudon-chan: That’s way too early to ask!]
[Nanzan: It’s very fun!]
[Nanzan: I’d love to hear more stories and learn more about the games you’re playing!]
“Nanzan-chan gets it!”
“Compared to her, Gyudon-chan still isn’t ready for the greatness of my stream.”
[Gyudon-chan: You’re annoying!]
[Gyudon-chan: If you’re so confident, tell us something interesting!]
“An interesting story?”
“Sure!”
“I’ll tell you something you could never say on your own streams!”
[Nanzan: I’d love to hear Haikawa-san’s stories!]
The stream continued with conversations between Gyudon-chan, Nanzan, and himself.
Gyudon-chan provided just the right amount of teasing and commentary.
Nanzan praised literally everything he said.
Having those two around made it incredibly easy for Haikawa to keep talking.
To be completely honest, however, his stream was amateurish compared to the polished broadcasts of Eris and Minami, who had spent countless hours refining their conversational skills.
There were many things he needed to improve.
Yet despite that, the two girls genuinely enjoyed themselves.
No other viewers ever showed up.
By the end, the stream felt less like a broadcast and more like a private chat room for the three of them.
Eventually, the stream ended.
“Alright.”
“I think that’s enough for today.”
“You two have school tomorrow?”
[Gyudon-chan: Nope.]
[Gyudon-chan: We have the day off.]
[Nanzan: Tomorrow is Saturday, so we don’t have school.]
Since they were both high school students, their streaming schedules and lifestyles were heavily restricted.
Minor corporate streamers often couldn’t stream past ten at night.
There were also complicated regulations involving wages and labor laws.
Apparently, a proper company like Happy Relay had various workarounds and solutions for some of those issues.
School attendance, however, was non-negotiable.
[Gyudon-chan: By the way, are you busy after this?]
[Gyudon-chan: I’ve got something I want to ask you about.]
“Huh?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“What is it?”
[Gyudon-chan: It can wait until after the stream ends.]
[Gyudon-chan: Just give me a little time, okay?]
After ending the stream and waiting for a short while, his phone rang through the social media calling app.
“Hey, Haikawa-san.”
“Sorry for bothering you when you’re tired.”
“Good evening, Haikawa-san.”
“It was nice seeing you again.”
“I really enjoyed your stream!”
He could hear both Eris and Minami through the receiver.
Apparently, they were using speakerphone.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“It might’ve been the most fun stream I’ve ever done.”
“Normally nobody watches.”
For perhaps the first time, Haikawa truly experienced what made streaming enjoyable.
“Anyway, about that thing I wanted to ask.”
“Are you free tomorrow, Haikawa-san?”
“Stop asking it like that.”
“I know you’re thinking unemployed equals free.”
He was definitely free tomorrow.
Still, hearing it phrased that way irritated him.
“Then will you help us again?”
“This time it’s about something happening at Happy Relay.”
“The agency?”
“Why don’t you just talk to your company directly?”
“Besides, is it really smart to trust a guy you’ve only met once?”
Haikawa and Eris had only met in person a single time.
They hadn’t even known each other’s real names until recently.
“But you’re the only person I can ask about weird stuff like this.”
“And everyone starts out as strangers.”
“Well…”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Still, don’t trust people on the internet so easily.”
“That includes me.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Anyway, tomorrow.”
“Shibuya again.”
“Ten in the morning.”
“We’ll be waiting at a cafĂŠ called Gregorio.”
“Minami will be there too.”
Without giving him any chance to respond, Eris ended the call.
“What the hell.”
“I was planning to go waste money at the pachinko parlor tomorrow.”
“And what happened to owing me a favor?”
“You’re already asking for another one.”
It felt like he’d somehow become the older brother of a selfish younger sister.
Still, he decided to look at it positively.
Helping them again might earn him another favor from two famous VTubers.
And so, he decided to show up tomorrow as well.
The next day, he followed the navigation app on his phone to the designated cafĂŠ.
It appeared to be a hidden gem located on the third floor of a building.
A traditional coffee shop.
“Ah!”
“Haikawa-san’s here!”
“You’re a little late!”
“Good morning, Haikawa-san.”
“I really enjoyed your stream yesterday!”
Eris and Minami were sitting at a table near the wall in the mostly empty cafĂŠ.
Unlike yesterday’s school uniform and loungewear, both were dressed casually today.
Eris wore cute but understated clothing.
Minami’s outfit was elegant, calm, and gentle.
“Morning, Gyudon-chan.”
“Morning, Nanzan-chan.”
“I watched your collaboration stream.”
“It was really lively.”
“~~~!”
“R-Really, Haikawa-san!?”
“That’s embarrassing…”
“But it makes me really happy!”
“So you were watching!”
“Thanks for tuning in!”
After exchanging greetings, he sat down.
The girls had arrived earlier.
Lemon tea sat in front of both of them.
Haikawa ordered coffee.
Since it seemed like a perfect opportunity, he was about to ask them for streaming advice when NanzanâKitagawa Minamiâsuddenly spoke.
“Allow me to properly introduce myself.”
“My streaming name is Kitagawa Minami.”
“But my real name is Shirayuri Fumina.”
“I’m sixteen years old, a first-year student at Chuzen Girls’ High School.”
“And as you’ve already seen, this is where I live.”
“Wait!”
“Minami, no sharing personal information!”
Kitagawa MinamiâShirayuri Fuminaârevealed her details with a smile, as though she was happy that Haikawa would get to know her better.
“Eris-chan, you’re the one being rude.”
“Haikawa-san has helped us so much, and you still haven’t even told him your name.”
“Though I understand if you’re worried.”
“Ugh…”
“That’s true…”
Nanzan as a nickname was one thing.
But calling Eris “Gyudon-chan” forever had already started feeling ridiculous.
Still, Haikawa never expected a celebrity like Minami to reveal her real name so casually.
“My real name is Haikawa Seiji.”
“I’m twenty-five.”
“My company went under, so I’m currently unemployed.”
“I’m trying to become successful enough to live off streaming.”
“I live in a rundown apartment near a station a little ways from Shibuya.”
“W-Wait!”
“Now you’re doing it too, Haikawa-san!?”
“Are you really okay with this!?”
“And isn’t using your real surname as your streamer name dangerous!?”
“Honestly, I felt weird being the older guy here and still not giving my name after meeting twice.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Gyudon-chan.”
“I-Is that so…?”
“Hmm…”
Unless something extraordinary happened, sharing a name and a little personal information wasn’t a huge issue.
At least, Haikawa didn’t believe these two would misuse anything they learned about him.
“My VTuber name is Mitsuhashi Eris.”
“But my real name is Kamisaka Ichino.”
“I’m sixteen, a first-year student at Dai-Ni High School.”
“And I live in the apartment building next to Fumina’s.”
“…Ugh, I said it.”
“You didn’t have to tell me.”
“If you want me to forget it, I’ll forget it.”
“I’d actually be happy if you remembered.”
“And I have no intention of forgetting your profile either, Haikawa-san⪔
The contrast between nervous Ichino and delighted Fumina couldn’t have been more obvious.
“So what should I call you?”
“You’ve both got three different names.”
“I honestly have no idea.”
A VTuber name.
An alternate account name.
A real name.
The simplest solution was to ask.
“Just call me Ichino.”
“No honorifics.”
“I don’t like being called with ‘-san.'”
“And hearing you call me Ichino-chan would probably give me chills.”
“I’d like you to call me Fumina too.”
“That would make me happy.”
Calling them by their VTuber names in public could potentially expose them because of their distinctive voices.
Using their real names was probably safer.
“Got it.”
“Nice to meet you properly, Ichino and Fumina.”
“You can call me Haikawa or Seiji.”
“I’ll stick with Haikawa-san.”
“Though Seiji-san isn’t bad either.”
“I’ll keep calling you Haikawa-san too.”
“Using your given name would make me a little embarrassed.”
“That’s fine.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“So what’s this consultation about, Ichino and Fumina?”
Their forms of address settled, he finally moved on to the main topic.
He wanted to ask them plenty of streaming-related questions, but dragging things out felt rude as the older person.
“Actually, the agency is trying to create a new type of Your-Tuber.”
“One that develops elementary and middle school kids.”
“What!?”
“We’ve already reached that stage!?”
“Yes.”
“They’re all working incredibly hard.”
This revelation shocked him even more than learning Eris and Minami were first-year high school students.
Still, he calmly listened.
“The management team thinks that if they find talented kids early and train them, they can create streamers and VTubers capable of pulling incredible numbers.”
“So they held auditions and recruited a bunch of children.”
According to Ichino, Happy Relay currently had over a hundred streamers and VTubers.
Yet they weren’t the best in any category.
The VTuber division alone contained sixty members.
Surprisingly, the average subscriber count among them was only fifty thousand.
Happy Relay had existed for around three years.
In the beginning, they’d grown rapidly.
Recently, however, their growth had slowed considerably.
They were still a major company.
Just not as unstoppable as before.
Competing companies had poached VTubers.
Some talents had left immediately after their contracts expired following disputes with management.
Group streamers had broken apart due to internal conflicts.
Independent creators had been canceled because of relationship scandals or old statements resurfacing.
The company had suffered numerous troubles.
These issues had damaged the brand.
Reduced trust in Happy Relay talents.
And ultimately lowered the quality of recruits.
The situation had become serious enough that it could no longer be ignored.
“So the solution they came up with was training streamers and targeting even younger audiences.”
“That’s apparently the idea.”
“Our manager told us we need to work even harder now.”
Happy Relay didn’t treat Ichino and Fumina like children.
They treated them as equal business partners.
Most companies would never discuss matters like this with sixteen-year-olds.
“A lot of the people who helped us when we first joined, including staff members, have transferred to other companies.”
“Many of them aren’t around anymore.”
“And honestly, Happy Relay was completely different from what I’d expected before joining.”
“Anyway.”
“Forget the company stuff.”
“What’s the actual problem?”
“Sorry!”
“I got sidetracked.”
“So, I met one of the kids from that new unit.”
“And lately she’s been having bad dreams.”
“When I heard about them, I thought it might be the kind of thing someone like you deals with, Haikawa-san.”
“That’s still pretty vague.”
“She’s a kid.”
“Maybe it’s just nightmares.”
“But we don’t know that, right?”
“What if it’s an evil spirit or something?”
“Ever since you helped us, I’ve started thinking things like that.”
“An evil spirit, huh…”
“This is probably a good chance to explain my psychic abilities properly.”
And so, Haikawa decided to explain what his psychic powers actually were and what he was capable of doing.