NOVEL NEXT Episode 4
Episode 4
After a long time, I went out to play with Mai.
We had a meal together, did a little window shopping, bought a game, and then headed home.
It seems we have two VR machines at home, so there’s no problem.
When we got home, Mai quickly took a photo of the game package and then started playing with her smartphone.
“Hehe, I went to buy a game with my big brother!”
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m currently active as a VTuber. I’m posting on that account. Our agency is in charge of promoting this game.”
…Huh? VTuber?
I knew about their existence, but I feel like the Mai I know was just a regular streamer…
Well, whatever.
Mai is talented and cute, after all. I feel a bit disappointed seeing her happily smiling.
“So, I’ll be streaming tomorrow, so we can’t play together, huh?”
I wanted to play together if possible.
And I wanted to contribute items for Mai and see her happy…
“But hey, big brother, you can play with me eventually! My listeners know about you!”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah! Oh, but… I’ll be playing with the others from the agency tomorrow, so maybe after that… Ah, I want to play with you, big brother, but finding time to do so…”
“No, don’t force it. Take care of that side of things. We can play together anytime, right?”
It’s disappointing, but Mai has her own community…
Well, Mai is my number one, but I understand that she has many number ones too.
I’m not so awkward as to push that aside.
Mai looks disappointed too, but then she smiles.
“So, for now, my streaming schedule is tight, but let’s play together once things settle down, big brother!”
“Yeah, looking forward to it.”
The service for “Little Brave Online” starts tomorrow.
Mai seems really excited about it, so I’m excited too.
Mai isn’t that good at games, so I’ve always supported her since we were kids.
I intend to support her the same way this time too, but before that, maybe I should look into this VTuber thing Mai is doing…
…After researching various things, I found out that Mai is a popular YouTuber affiliated with the famous VTuber agency “Dimension,” with about 200,000 subscribers.
She’s known as “Kirikiri Mai,” and everyone calls her “Mai.”
She’s a model child with a similar appearance to Mai, so I quickly checked her past streams.
Using the computer, I listened to multiple streams at double speed or faster.
This is a skill I acquired since being transferred to another world. I have the ability to distinguish sounds to a surprising extent, just like Prince Shotoku.
…She started her activities right after I became a shut-in.
The reason she started her activities seems to be to support her shut-in big brother…
“It doesn’t matter if my big brother stays shut-in forever. I’ll support him!” she apparently declared.
Just hearing that makes it sound like I’m a terrible brother, and apparently, her listeners thought so too.
At first, it seems like they had a vibe like, “lol, shut-in brother,” but when Mai talked about the reason for my shut-in, now all the listeners seem to be supporting both me and Mai.
…I see. So this is why Mai’s listeners know about me.
While checking all the streams from the past year, I perfectly cleaned the room using shadow magic.
After confirming everything, I noticed that Mai was doing a stream for tomorrow.
I peeked at it and saw that there were about ten thousand viewers… She must be quite popular.
“That’s right, my brother came out of his room!”
Mai said happily, and the comments section was buzzing.
〈Brother… did he get over his shut-in phase…?〉
〈That’s great… Mai-chan. I’ve been worried about him all this time.〉
〈…It doesn’t matter what the trigger was. I hope he can start feeling better doing what he loves.〉
〈Brother! We’re on your side too!〉
Warm comments like these were being sent, and Mai nodded with tears in her eyes.
…Hey, Goddess! Because of you, there are so many people worrying about me!
Not just Mai, but also her listeners, I feel like I’m deceiving them, and I feel really sorry about it.
…But then again, I don’t really want to say, “Oh, I’ve been transferred to another world,” or anything like that.
I might be believed because of my abilities, but I’ll probably be seen as a dangerous person for the rest of my life…
Anyway, I subscribed to Mai’s channel and enjoyed her stream while giving it a thumbs up.
There’s so much to do… I need to get Mai’s merchandise… But I don’t have a way to make money…
If it were another world, I could just hunt dragons, but there are no dragons in this world.
Should I go around finding wanted criminals and turning them in to the police?
That might make me some money, but it seems like a hassle.
I wish there was another way to make money…
If I go to the official website of “Dimension,” there are a lot of things I want, like situation voices… What should I do?
…The next day.
Yesterday night was tough.
My father and stepmother came back from work, and when I greeted them with “Hey,” they hugged me while crying.
It was embarrassing to be worried about like that.
Anyway, I vented to the Goddess as usual.
Seriously. Because of her, how many people are worrying about me…?
While sighing, I got into the VR capsule today to start “Little Brave Online,” which starts its service today.
…This VR machine was released just before I was transferred to another world.
I was impressed at the time, but I haven’t operated it for a long time, so I forgot the details.
The instruction manual was placed next to it, and I quickly read through it and understood everything.
My specs have gone up since I went to another world.
“Is this a VRMMO?”
I used to have high expectations for it in the past.
But since being transferred to another world… I don’t have that much longing for it.
But since Mai was so excited saying, “Let’s play together later, big brother!” I’m going to enjoy it with all my might.
Since we couldn’t meet for a year, I’m going to spoil Mai from now on.
Well, is it time?
As someone who has experienced a real different world, I’ll evaluate virtual reality.
I equipped the headgear and closed my eyes.
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