The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart

[This_code] [EYEAI General Server]

General Chat Channel

Nekozuka Rion
[As a staff member, I’ll make a brief announcement.]
[There’s been a slight controversy, but the company will handle it.]
[So, all of you talents, please don’t cancel your streaming schedules, and continue as usual.]

It’s been a while since Rion last streamed.

Ever since she posted the announcement about transitioning from being a VTuber to working as a staff member, her streaming frequency had dropped significantly.

Even though becoming staff didn’t mean she was quitting as a VTuber entirely, Rion had no real desire to continue streaming.

"Since things are like this, Rion, could you take on a role similar to B-chan from Horizon Air?"
"It would be beneficial for us to have someone who can represent the company’s stance."

That’s what the CEO had said.

It sounded nice—representing the company’s stance—but in reality, it was just a polite way of saying she’d be the tank, taking the brunt of any criticism.

"In a way, this is utilitarianism at work too," Rion thought.

VTuber companies often take a lot of heat.

The history of VTubing began in 2017 with the very first VTuber, and now, in 2024, it had only been about eight years since the industry’s inception.

An industry with a short history meant that it lacked the accumulated know-how of other sectors, leading to many mistakes along the way.

How many incidents had occurred during the industry’s growth?

And in that process, countless VTubers had left the scene.

Whenever a VTuber retired, the company inevitably got blamed.

"Why didn’t you protect the VTuber?"
"Why did you allow the VTuber to retire?"
"Why didn’t you care for the VTuber before they broke down?"

If only the company took the heat, that might have been fine, but the other colleagues would also get dragged into the criticism.

Although it wasn’t certain, Rion’s fellow generation members probably received flak when she announced her departure from being a VTuber.

"Why didn’t you take better care of Rion?"
"Why didn’t you guide Rion more?"
"Why didn’t you collaborate with her more to share subscribers?"

And maybe even Rion’s seniors got criticized, along with her juniors, like Anna.

"Maybe it’s better if I take all the criticism on myself from now on," she thought.

Is this what a world without harm to others looks like?

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

But after turning her back on her fans, Rion figured this was the end she deserved.

"Let’s start once we gather more people."

- Nyanha
- Why don’t you say ‘nyan’ anymore?
- Where’s all the 'nyan-nyan' gone?
- Did you sell your concept off somewhere?

"Uh… today, I have something important to discuss. So I’m going to refrain from being playful for now," Rion said politely.@@novelbin@@

Ugh, that was cringeworthy.

As a manager, Rion tried to pay more attention to how she spoke. After all, a manager speaking in cat puns would be a bit odd.

Still, while she could maintain a polite tone in the chat, speaking that way in person made her feel embarrassed. It was the backlash from having played a concept-heavy VTuber for so long. I should have just done things normally, like Anna.

"I started this stream suddenly because there’s something I need to explain to everyone. Our company’s VTuber, Aurora, who is debuting this Saturday, has not engaged in any form of 'smurfing' or used an alternate account. I want to clarify that in advance."

Rion displayed several documents on the screen.

"These documents were issued by Deadraus Korea, which operates LabyrinthosVR. I personally accompanied Laura-unnie to Deadraus Korea."

"I’ve blurred out some personal information to avoid misuse, but these are Laura-unnie’s account records. As you can see from the documents, Laura-unnie has never created an alternate account using proxy authentication."

"In addition, I’ve also prepared records showing that before playing Labyrinthos, Laura-unnie had been playing Heroes. I want to clarify that Laura-unnie started playing Labyrinthos fairly recently."

"And since there are some blind spots in the documents, some of you might think they’re fake or that these are records of someone other than Aurora. To address those concerns, I’ve prepared an audio recording from a Deadraus Korea staff member, which I’ll now play."

Rion played the audio file.

It’s not common, but there are cases where a VTuber retires shortly after debuting.

Most of the time, it’s because of a troubled past—things like having been involved in compensated dating or a one-night stand.

Naturally, if such a past exists, public opinion can turn sour.

That’s why Rion did everything in her power.

"And this includes the biometric registration records of the VR capsule, Laura-unnie’s Heroes playtime, and the purchase records for her PC and VR equipment… I brought as much documentation as I could to help you understand. Collecting all this nearly killed me."

- So thorough, lol
- Where are all the people who called her a smurf now?
- People just suck and then blame others, calling them smurfs, lol
- So she’s just talented? Wow, she’s a legit prodigy…

"Yes. Laura-unnie is genuinely talented. That’s why our company brought her on board."

Rion discreetly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the smurfing accusations against Laura were finally cleared up.

But there were still a few hurdles left.

[Anonymous donated 1,000 KRW]
"So, why did Rion’s cousin debut?"

"…Ah, I should’ve disabled donations for this stream. Hang on a moment, I’ll turn off the donation feature."

Accepting donations during a clarification stream wasn’t a good look, so Rion quickly disabled the feature.

"First of all, I’ve already announced that I’m transitioning from being a VTuber to working as staff. But I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Laura-unnie’s debut."

"I’ll explain more on my personal stream, but my transition to staff was decided quite some time ago. Laura-unnie’s debut was decided fairly recently."

"Laura-unnie hasn’t even debuted yet. So, before her first stream, I wanted to explain everything as a staff member."

"And yes, I did persuade Laura-unnie to become a VTuber. So, in a way, I bear some responsibility for this, and that’s why I’m doing this stream."

- Trying to boost your own performance metrics?
- Wow, Rion, you’re scarier than I thought.
- "Ambitious climber."
- Rion, turns out you’ve got some ambition!

"Performance metrics… Sure, let’s go with that… If Laura-unnie succeeds, it’s all thanks to me bringing her in, right?"

It was a misunderstanding, but not entirely untrue, so Rion decided to just accept it.

Rion knew that the more someone tries to appear squeaky clean, the more things fall apart.

Instead of awkwardly trying to be perfect, it’s sometimes better to embrace the weird memes attached to you.

…Better that I be known as some ambitious climber than have unnie or the company get caught up in strange misunderstandings.

Though it didn’t feel entirely fair, what could she do? If I’m going to tank the hits, I might as well take them head-on.

She could even be content with it. Being known as the 'ambitious climber' was a relatively harmless misunderstanding.

…Probably?

"And next… regarding the question, 'Is Aurora, like Nekozuka Rion, also a princess from the cat planet?' I’ll leave that to your imagination. Please watch Laura-unnie’s debut stream."

After that, Rion continued fielding various questions from viewers, addressing them one by one.

Are you really living with Laura? What was that appearance on Anna’s stream before the debut? When was Laura’s debut officially decided?

Though many questions came up, once the biggest controversy—the smurfing accusation—was cleared up, the rest were easy to handle.

Except for one.

- So why did she act like a jerk?

"……."

Rion hesitated for a moment.

She briefly hoped the flood of other chats might bury that comment.

But reality rarely works out so optimistically.

- Why did she act like a psycho, cutting people down?
- Stop deflecting, explain the smurfing.
- So she’s not a smurf, but why did she teabag?
- She clearly has a personality problem.

"Well, about that…."

That was the one thing she couldn’t prove with documents.

Sure, she had records showing that Laura had never received any warnings or suspensions for misconduct in games.

But people could still argue, "Does that mean bad behavior is okay as long as you’re not penalized?"

In the end, people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.

Especially in matters of morality, an abstract field.

It’s all too common for offhand remarks or actions to be blown out of proportion.

And equally common are instances where a statement’s original intent gets twisted into something entirely different.

What was once trivial can snowball into something massive.

How many VTubers had been forced to apologize for trivial matters up until now?

…Looks like someone posted a rally point on the Labyrinth gallery.

Some people dislike Laura because she beat them. Some hold grudges against her, which they likely vented on the gallery.

And there were probably others who jumped on the bandwagon to stir up drama. Maybe even fans of teams Laura had beaten, looking to take a shot at her.

This collective dislike for Laura had snowballed.

Now, with nothing left to accuse her of regarding smurfing, the only thing they could attack was her personality.

If the controversy surrounding her behavior grew and led to her premature retirement, some people would undoubtedly feel satisfied.

Whether modern society had conditioned them to crave instant gratification or they were simply wired that way from the start, Rion couldn’t say for sure.

Sigh.

Rion sighed.

"Laura-unnie is…."

Creak.

Before Rion could finish her sentence, the door suddenly opened.

"Uh…."

Rion was startled. This had never happened before—her door opening like this.

Whenever Laura needed Rion, she’d call her over the phone.

Laura had never physically come looking for her.

"…Unnie?"

"Move aside a little."

With a soft smile, Laura approached.

As always, her steps were graceful and leisurely.

But they were so natural that it was impossible to detect any shift in her center of gravity.

By the time Rion realized it, Laura was already standing right beside her.

"When did she get so close?"

Before she could even process that, Laura leaned in and glanced at the monitor.

"Nice to meet you all. I’m Aurora."

Laura spoke into the mic.

Of course, it was the mic Rion had been using just moments ago. Positioned close to Rion’s face.

As a result, Laura’s hair brushed against Rion’s cheek.

The scent of roses, or perhaps her shampoo, filled Rion’s senses.

For some reason, the fragrance made her feel lightheaded.

If she turned her head, their cheeks would surely touch.

Even though she was trying to avoid that, she couldn’t help but notice Laura’s profile, causing Rion to gulp unconsciously.

"I’ll be starting my stream soon. Let’s meet on my channel, everyone."

Tuk.

With that, Laura placed her hand on top of Rion’s.

Her slender fingers slipped between Rion’s.

Soft… It didn’t feel like the hands of someone who played games all day.

Somehow, Rion felt as if she were selling her soul to a devil.

Click.

Laura applied a gentle pressure, pressing down on Rion’s index finger.

With that, the mouse clicked, and the "End Stream" button was pressed.

The stream ended.

"…Huh? W-wait…! Unnie! What are you doing, ending my stream without permission?!"

"You looked tired, Rion."

Swish.

Laura’s hand slid away from Rion’s.

But her warmth lingered, like an afterimage, on Rion’s skin.

"Get some rest."

"……."

Rion opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Laura simply smiled and exited the room.

_____________________________

@Aurora_EYEAI

"I’ll be doing a test stream as my first broadcast before debut. Come join me for:

【Audience Participation】 How Well Does Tea Pair with Retirement?
【Aurora/EYEAI】

Looking forward to seeing you all."