The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart

[General] A-maiden is late

Are you going to become a grandma at this rate?

[Comments]

• The thought of A-maiden staying a virgin until she becomes a grandma is strangely exciting... damn...!!!
  ㄴ ?
  ㄴ [Is this guy crazy?]
  ㄴ [Roll call at the jail cell, ☆please.]
  ㄴ Who is this? Let me know.
  ㄴ VTuber ratings, lol.
• Grandma is about to go live, where?
  ㄴ (Author) [Instead, here’s a huge pile of garbage for you, lol.]
• Why hasn’t she streamed yet?
  ㄴ She’ll probably go live after her official debut on Saturday.

"How should I address you?"

Anna asked.

"Address me?"

"You're debuting as a 6th-generation VTuber soon, right?"@@novelbin@@

"That's correct."

"Then, technically, you’re my junior, but should I keep calling you 'teacher'?"

"Hmm."

I absentmindedly stroked my chin.

The hierarchy was getting messy.

Rion, a 4th-generation VTuber, is my cousin. And Anna, who’s from the 5th generation, calls me her teacher. If I compare it to the military, Rion would be like a sergeant, and Anna more like a private.

"So, to Anna, it must feel like her tutor suddenly enlisted as a private."

It’s all a bit confusing.

"But in the VTuber world, they don’t seem to care much about seniority."

That was one of the peculiar things. In the entertainment industry, seniority is everything, but VTubers—despite having a few years between them—treat each other almost like friends, casually using informal speech and addressing each other by name.

"That’s true. VTubers don’t really draw a hard line between seniors and juniors."

"Then, why not call me whatever you're comfortable with?"

"Still, there’s some respect given for debuting earlier. It’s like a group of seasoned soldiers near the end of their service time, but they still acknowledge their rank."

…I get what she’s saying, but why does she know so much about military culture?

Could she be a reincarnator too? Her interests are a bit too nerdy for a regular girl...

"So basically, you’re saying it’s awkward to treat me as a senior?"

"I don’t mind, but the viewers might not like it."

Anna pointed out that viewers could dislike a new VTuber who doesn’t show enough respect toward their seniors.

Does that mean I should show respect to Rion and Anna?

That’s difficult.

I’m always the one being respected. I’ve rarely had to show respect for anyone.

"Then feel free to address me however you like. You can call me 'Lady Laura' or 'Miss Laura,' if that suits you."

"What about Laura-chan?"

"……."

Anna is kind at heart, but sometimes she can be annoying.

Sometimes.

…Maybe more often than I’d like.

And with that, Anna and I decided to part ways for now.

Not because she annoyed me.

…Well, she did annoy me a bit, but that’s not why we’re parting.

Even though I’m the villainess, I don’t usually push away people who like me.

You often see this in romance novels, don’t you? When the villainess criticizes the heroine, her followers always support her and join in.

In that sense, you could say Anna is one of my followers.

She’s always seemed to like me, but after the recent "viewer participation" stream, I feel like we’ve grown even closer.

"Maybe she finally realized I’m more charming than her favorite?"

It feels a bit unfair to Hanabane Rui, though. Sometimes being too perfect can cause problems.

Anyway, as much as I appreciate Anna, due to "company regulations," we won’t be able to meet for a while.

• "This varies by company, but after debuting, there’s usually a period where you can only collaborate with your generation."
• "It’s not that you’re forbidden from collaborating with anyone outside your generation, but most companies have similar rules."
• "The restriction period can be as short as two weeks or as long as a month. Some companies even ban collaborations with seniors for up to six months…"

It seems there’s a collaboration restriction for new VTubers.

There are several reasons for this, but the biggest one is to give new VTubers time to find their footing by streaming solo.

How they handle their role-playing,
How they interact with viewers,
How they manage their broadcast atmosphere, and so on.

Role-playing (RP) seems to be the biggest concern.

VTubers aren’t expected to be professional actors, but even light role-playing has its challenges.

And since it’s not fully genuine, mistakes can happen while streaming.

• "When I was 8, pheromone perfumes were popular. …Hmm? You’re asking if perfumes existed 7,000 years ago since I’m an 8,000-year-old demon? Well, in the virtual demon world, they did~. Yup…!"
• "Oh, when I was in high school, I did that too. …What? You’re asking if I’m still in high school? Well, yes! I’m the second-year student council president, so I was talking about what I did in my first year."

Situations like that arise when the VTuber's RP conflicts with reality, especially when telling stories.

While that gap is part of the charm of VTubers, RP is also a key element in immersing viewers.

That’s why the "collaboration restriction period" is like a training period for new recruits, a time to get used to role-playing.

If you collaborate with seniors while still adjusting to your RP, it could be destabilizing.
And if you seem closer to seniors than your generation during your debut, viewers may not like it.
Some fans dislike when seniors drag juniors around for collaborations too soon.

So, for now, I’ll only be having Discord calls with Anna, and we won’t be meeting in VR or on-stream for a while.

In the meantime,

Ding

[Lo-Laura! H-hi…!]

A voice came through.

"You’re here?"

[Ah, yes! I-I’m here…. Um, are Sora and Chell coming…?]

"Who knows? Maybe they won’t come today either."

[Oh, I see…! Are you going to play a game today, Laura…?]

"No, I was thinking of having dinner."

I checked my phone, and the food delivery app was open. Judging by the rider’s location, the food would arrive soon.

[Oh, I see! I was about to eat dinner too…! Would it be alright if we chatted while we eat…?]

"Suit yourself."

[Then wait a moment! I’ll go grab something to eat!]

With a loud clatter, Inagika’s footsteps hurriedly retreated from the speaker. What a busy person.

• "Make sure to interact with your generation as much as possible before the debut, sis."
• "Especially since this generation has one member fewer than the others. You need to show a stronger bond than the previous ones."

That’s what Rion said.

So recently, I’ve been trying to stay connected to the voice chat more often.

There’s a group chat that Sora set up, but there’s a somewhat awkward vibe, and the few messages that come through are overly formal.

So, I stick to the voice channel, where someone always seems to join eventually.

Sometimes Sora drops by.
Chell often joins but doesn’t speak.
Inagika comes by every day.

[W-What are you eating for dinner, Laura…?]

"Pasta."

[Oh, you like pasta…. I-I’ll remember that!]

And then I heard a slurping sound. It seems Inagika often replaces meals with konjac jelly.

Lately, Inagika has been the person I talk to the most.
We’re often the only two in the voice channel, and Inagika always initiates the conversation.

The reason is obvious.

Inagika wants to get closer to me.

[Is your stream prep going well…?]

Inagika stammered a little.

Since we were only chatting online, I couldn’t see her face, but I could easily guess what expression she was wearing. She was probably nervous.

Looking back, Inagika has always been like that.

From what I’ve heard, she doesn’t seem to have many friends. Maybe none at all.

Still, she clearly has a strong desire to make friends, though her lack of conversational skills and confidence probably makes it difficult to reach out.

In that sense, I might be her first friend.

"Honestly, is there much to prep for the stream?"

I replied.

Is there really anything more to introduce about myself?

I’ve appeared on Anna’s stream a few times, and I recently held a controversial explanation stream as well.

The viewers already know who I am.

[That’s true…. But you still need to prepare something. Things like your profile, schedule, and giving viewers something to look forward to is important….]

"Well, that’s not hard at all."

My profile and schedule were already prepared. I just needed to upload them to my stream.

As for building anticipation, that wasn’t an issue either.

I am an object of envy, a content creator just by existing.

[I’m so jealous…. I wish I had your confidence, Laura….]

"It’s a shame I can’t share it with you. Let’s hope you’re born as Duke Aurora in your next life."

[I’ll try…. Um, but you’re the last one to debut, right?]

"Yes."

Sora, Chell, Inagika, and then me, in that order.

• "Laura should go last. If she goes first, we’ll all be overshadowed."

You can’t hide the sun just by covering it with your hand. Sora hadn’t spoken to me much, but she recognized my brilliance immediately and assigned me the final spot. I can’t help but be exceptional.

Sora wanted either the first or last spot,
And Inagika, on the other hand, was vehemently against going first.

• "I-I’d rather go before Laura… that way if I mess up, people will forget quickly…."

So, Sora went first, Inagika went third, and I was last.
Since Chell hadn’t expressed any preference, she was automatically second.

[O-Oh, on debut day… Shouldn’t we, um, gather…?]

Inagika suggested.

"You mean in real life?"

[No, not like that…! I’m not ready to meet in person yet…. Plus, we need to be at home to stream, right….]

"That’s true."

[I was thinking it’d be nice if we gathered on Discord… and watched each other’s streams while chatting….]

Inagika mumbled.

Now that I think about it, I’ve only gotten close to Inagika. I haven’t really connected with the other two. Especially with Chell, I still have no idea what she’s like.

"Alright. Let’s do that."

[Then, can you bring it up in the chat for me…? I find it hard to ask directly….]

It sounded like she couldn’t even order food on her own and wanted me to do it for her….

It wasn’t a difficult task, so I agreed and sent the message to the group chat on her behalf.

[Have Rion introduce me.]

[…What? Me?]

Summoning the manager from her very first debut stream, Aurora.

Watching this unfold, Sora mumbled.

"...crazy bitch."