Chapter 27, I’m Doing a Chat Stream

Translator: Lizz

 

Man, that was seriously rough.

 

I get swarmed by all kinds of people, and I end up just registering and going home.

 

Aoi-chan worries about me too, but I manage to get home safely, so it’s all good. They’re looking for people to join the next exploration, but I don’t have the time for that.

 

I mean, why do people make such a fuss over me? This world is full of mysteries.

 

I kind of get separated from Aoi-chan, but she messages me later.

 

Aoi-chan: Sorry, things got super hectic, didn’t they?

Me: Oh, no worries at all! I’m the one who should apologize.

Aoi-chan: Not at all. Um, by the way, Kagetora-san, are you planning to join DunFes?

Me: DunFes? That huge event, right? Is someone like me even allowed to join?

 

I know about DunFes, but I figure it’s probably too much for a newbie like me. But Aoi-chan doesn’t seem to think so.

 

Aoi-chan: I’m sure you’ll do great, Kagetora-san!

Me: R-Really?

Aoi-chan: Absolutely. If you’d like, let’s meet again at the Guild.

Me: Yeah, sure.

 

Looks like she’s seriously overestimating me. Well, if I can join, I’d like to. After getting tossed around by such a chaotic day, I go straight to bed once I get home.

 

◇

 

The day after going through all that trouble, I decide to do a chat stream.

 

This time I try streaming with my laptop. It’s a low-spec one, so the video quality ends up worse than usual, but it can’t be helped.

 

I connect the goggles to the PC just in case. Having Miria’s support really helps.

 

“Alright… just a bit more…”

 

<Stream starting now.>

 

“Whoa!? Th-that scared me. Oh, good evening! This is Kage Channel.”

 

Even though I always get startled by the sudden AI voice, the chat stream starts without a hitch. Looking at the screen, it seems like a bunch of comments are already coming in.

 

: Good eveniiing!

: Whoa, it’s a chat stream today?

: Finally, the day has come!

: I’ve been waiting for youuu, Kage Channel!

: I’ve been waiting since three days ago

: Good evening

: Hey there–

: Isn’t this your first chat stream?

: I’ve got a ton of things I want to ask

: Surprisingly handsome

: I’m excited to see what kind of chat this turns into!

: Yaaay!

: Kage-chan!

: I came from Aoi Channel

: So this is the person everyone’s been talking about

: Good eveniiing!

: Hey

: It’s heeereeeee!

: Aren’t you handsome

 

Whoa. I didn’t expect the chat to blow up this much just from a greeting.

 

But this isn’t the time to get nervous.

 

“Everyone, thanks for coming to the stream today. This time, I’m doing the chat stream you’ve all been asking for! So, what should I do… I guess I’ll start with an introduction.”

 

I glance at the viewer count and it’s already over a hundred thousand. Isn’t the pace of growth way faster than before!? My heart’s starting to race.

 

“My name is Ryuga Kagetora. I’m twenty-two, and I graduated from university this year. But I got fired right away from the company I joined. So I’ve been surviving by exploring dungeons for a while. Honestly, I’m surprised at how much you can earn doing that.”

 

Hmm. I’m not sure what I should talk about. For now, I just shared a simple profile, but I wonder if that killed the mood.

 

But looking at the chat, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Actually, there are tons of questions coming in!?

 

: Surprisingly normal lol

: What’s a subscription?

: Tell us more about Miria-chan

: It’s May now, so you got fired after just a month?

: Getting fired that fast is wild lol

: What level are you?

: What’s your explorer rarity?

: What’s summon gacha?

: Have you been an explorer for a long time?

: Tell us about that dungeon key from the other day

: The subscription thing is so mysterious, I’ve been dying to hear about it

: What level are you?

: Do you have a girlfriend?

: What’s your relationship with Aoi-chan?

: Everyone’s asking way too many questions lol

: Is it true you joined Rebellion?

: By the way, is it true you know Ai?

: Just hearing your intro sounds kinda tragic

: What about AI Miria-chan?

: When you helped Aoi-chan, did you meet Noel Arisugawa?

: This question rush is insane lol

: The subscription thing is definitely what I’m most curious about

 

…Wh-what is this?

 

I totally didn’t expect to get bombarded with this many questions, and I just stare blankly at the chat, unable to speak.

 

“Uh, um… where should I even start? The subscription thing, well, I signed up when I bought the streaming goggles. It’s 3,000 yen a month, and the old lady at the store said it was a great deal. There’s even login bonuses and stuff, so I’m actually getting a lot out of it! I mean, subscriptions are pretty normal, right? You don’t know about them?”

 

: Is it something that exists overseas?

: Isn’t that way too much service for just 3,000 yen?

: You signed up at the store? Lol

: Wait, I really want to know more about that shop

: No way. I’ve never seen a subscription like that

: Whaaat?

: Login bonuses… this isn’t an app, you know

: Yeah, this is definitely weird!

 

No one seems to believe me. The comment section keeps flooding with rebuttals.

 

“Hey, Miria. Everyone’s saying they’ve never heard of this subscription thing.”

 

<Subscriptions for explorers haven’t spread widely yet. The viewers’ reactions fall within expected parameters. In a few more months, subscriptions will likely become common knowledge.>

 

Lately, whenever Miria says stuff like that, I find myself believing her. It’s kind of scary!

 

Even though she’s an AI, she always seems considerate, and if this were some kind of scam, she wouldn’t be this kind.

 

Besides, thanks to the subscription, I’ve managed to survive even when I ran into dangerous enemies in dungeons.

 

While I’m thinking about that, another question catches my eye.

 

: You went to something called the Evolution Cave (?), right? Did you actually evolve or whatever?

 

Evolution… oh, that.

 

“It wasn’t exactly evolution, more like an upgrade! Thanks to the subscription feature, my explorer rarity went up from R to SR. I used the Squid Crown from the other day!”

 

At that moment, the chat freezes for a few seconds.

 

Huh? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Just as I start to panic, a flood of messages explodes in the chat!

 

<Concurrent viewers have exceeded 200,000. Also, multiple hyper chats have been received.>

 

“Wh-what!?”

 

Even though it’s my own stream, I have no idea what’s going on anymore.

 

And wait, it hasn’t even been ten minutes since the chat started!