| *Keyboard typing* |
 |
| Chikage | … |
| Itaru | …Aaand sent. |
| Chikage | By the way, have you decided on a wedding gift for your sister yet? |
| Itaru | Oh, I couldn’t think of anything, so I might just buy her a pair of Baccarat glasses. |
| I’m getting flashbacks to every time I’ve had to pay for unnecessary game loot, though… |
| Chikage | Then only two requests from the Demon King’s commandments remain. |
| Itaru | First is to get Citron’s help, and second is to play the perfect younger brother during the IRL meeting, so it’ll be an easy win. |
| Oh yeah, speaking of, which one do you think is better, senpai? |
| Chikage | What? |
| Itaru | For my 7th anniversary of streaming. I was talking to you about it before. |
| Chikage | I thought you were going to ask about which pair of glasses was better… |
| Itaru | Well, I mean, this is a big priority for me too. |
| Chikage | Here. Without a doubt, you should pick VII. |
| Itaru | I wasn’t really sure, but since it’s the 7th anniversary, I guess that is the most fitting. |
| It’s just that VII is a dungeon RPG, so it’s gonna be hard to speedrun… |
| The problem is I’m gonna be streaming for a long ass time. |
| So, when do you think I should start streaming, and when should I end? |
| Chikage | It’s going to be a while before I can leave for a business trip, is that fine with you? |
| Itaru | There’s no rush. The best time would be after the lead performance. |
| Chikage | You’re quite good at making thumbnails, since you’ve been active for 7 years. |
| Itaru | When you’re a committed streamer, you inevitably improve. I use this same layout to make presentation materials at the company. |
| Chikage | If your boss knew about this, he would faint, given how much of an all-star employee he thinks you are. |
| Well, starting the MANKAI channel was a great success. You never know where life will take you. |
| Itaru | Pot, meet kettle. I’d say senpai’s cheat abilities are pretty good too. |
| Honestly though, while we’re on the topic, my thumbnails and videos were all crappy starting out. You don’t come out of the womb yelling ‘don’t forget to like and subscribe.’ |
| Chikage | You were still in college when you started 7 years ago, right? |
| Itaru | Yup. I had no idea what kind of equipment to use at first… |
| I bought a mic, but I couldn’t actually use it ‘cause the cable was the wrong type, and I couldn’t even use the streaming software properly. |
| And my video editing was a mess too. I was just constantly making mistakes. |
| There was even a time when my parents and sis found out I bought a microphone, so they thought I was gonna be a singer. |
| Chikage | Chigasaki, you’re a singer? Fascinating. |
| Itaru | They were all ready to take me to karaoke because of it. I tried my best to explain that I was just gonna livestream a game. |
| A lot of people come to watch nowadays, but I only had one viewer during my first streams. |
| Chikage | That sounds like a mental test. |
| Itaru | It was a one-on-one stream, and he was a really noisy viewer. |
| |
| --Flashback-- |
| |
 |
| Nomin | “GG.” |
| Itaru | Thanks. Thank you for your constant support. |
| (This guy shows up every time.) |
| Nomin | “You’ve sure got a lot of free time on your hands to speedrun KniRoun like this.” |
| Itaru | Shut up. I don’t wanna be told off by someone who’s got the free time to watch. |
| Nomin | “Why don’t you play more popular games? Don’t you wanna get more of an audience?” |
| Itaru | It’s fine since I want to play KniRoun. |
| Nomin | “Doesn’t it get annoying to just sit in front of a screen and mumble to yourself when hardly anyone’s watching? The sound quality is so bad.” |
| Itaru | I mean, you’re watching. |
| Nomin | “Why don’t you at least advertise yourself on chobitter?” |
| Itaru | You’re giving advice disguised as a hater. Come on, you’re either an anti or you’re not. |
| |
| Nomin | “Taruchi, you’re finally on chobitter now.” |
| Itaru | I’m advertising like you said I should. |
| Nomin | “Don’t just sit on your laurels, keep moving.” |
| “You should post short videos instead of just streams. It’s always way too long, not everyone has the time to watch them.” |
| Itaru | You’re one to talk. |
| Nomin | “And you talk too much.” |
| Itaru | Whose fault is that? |
| Nomin | “Fine. Your persona’s always like that.” |
| |
| --Flashback over-- |
| |
 |
| Itaru | I was nervous being watched by an audience, but after a while I started feeling free and comfortable, like I was gaming by myself… |
| Chikage | You owe him in a way. |
| Itaru | Well, I did get some flak for that side of myself, though. |
| Chikage | Oh, the thing you were talking about with Banri. |
| Itaru | My banter with that viewer got clipped in a brutal way. So I’ve been labelled a vulgar streamer. |
| I privated that video at the time and made an apology, but it was useless since it already drew in an audience. |
| And it became my style, so I kept up that back-and-forth with the viewers. |
| I wanna express my gratitude to all the viewers who come to watch my streams even when I’m getting flamed. |
| Chikage | Perfectly balanced as all things should be. |
| Itaru | So, for some reason, it feels like I’ve finally been accepted. |
| But that first viewer stopped coming to my streams. |
| I don’t know if he just got bored or if he was worried about all the hate. |
| I was able to establish a lot of things thanks to his advice, like my PR and playstyle, so I’m grateful. |
| Chikage | The overall conclusion I got from your story is that, that viewer is… |
| Itaru | Stop right there. The possibility came to my mind at some point, too. |
| But I try not to think about it as much as possible since it sure makes me feel… some type of way. |
| Chikage | …That’s right. It’s just a possibility. |
| Well, with your streaming style you’re always at risk of getting flamed, so you should hold your tongue a little more. |
| Itaru | By the way, will you do something if I get flamed? |
| Chikage | Depends. You can take care of yourself regardless. |
| Itaru | Then if the flaming gets out of control I’ll ask you to lend me a hand. |
| Chikage | I’ll prepare a bucket of water for when you get burned. |
| Itaru | That’s nowhere close to enough. |
