Chapter 48

Ｒe‍ad́​& ;o‌ñ Ǩa‍tRe​ａd‌inĝＣ​af̀e​

First Stream (1)

What was I feeling just before I debuted as Han Yeoreum?
Was I super nervous? Or was I just incredibly excited?
It’s been so long that I don’t remember exactly, but I’m pretty sure it was closer to excitement than nerves.
If not, I wouldn’t be so nostalgic for the feelings I’m having now.

“I’ll be watching you, so fight!”
“…If you’re watching, it might actually make me more nervous.”

Toya clenched her fist and gave me an encouraging smile.
Even though I said it might make me nervous, I wasn’t really worried about being watched by her.
In fact, it felt more like she was giving me strength.

“Oh, wait. Natsu, could you look over here for a sec?”
“Mm?”

When I turned my head at Toya’s call, she gently reached out and started tying my hair.
Before long, she had styled it into twin tails, just like my avatar, Ichinose Natsu.
As I shook my head, the hair tied on both sides swayed gently.
Hmm, will this help me get into the zone better?
I looked at Toya, who was clapping her hands, saying how well it suited me, and couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Fighting!”
“Thanks, Toya.”

Toya pushed her chair back and sat like a parent at a parent-teacher meeting, waving her hands energetically as if cheering me on.
…She’s really like a parent at a school meeting.

‘But now, it’s really starting.’
I’ve said the phrase “real start” so many times, but now this really is the beginning.
The debut stream was just to let everyone know I was going to start streaming.
The first stream, with all the attention from people, should be done earnestly and enjoyably.
Yeah, let’s do this.
Let’s go, Han Yeoreum. Let’s go, Ichinose Natsu.

[The stream has started.]

—

Oh, it’s started.

Finally, it’s starting lol

“Hello, this is Ichinose Natsu from V-Spe Gamers…”

She’s here!

Her voice is so cute.

Her voice sounds like a fun match for my niece, lol

I’m so glad a cute girl like Natsu is debuting…

Natsu is cute. Natsu is cute. Natsu is cute.

A huge number of people were flooding in, so the chat was moving faster than I could keep up.
I’m a bit slow at reading, especially since I didn’t have much practice reading Japanese outside of talking to Toya.
Guess I shouldn’t have crammed so much…
“With that, let’s play a game!”

What’s with the sudden game, no self-introduction? lol

Is this how Gamers roll? Is this the style for them?

Don’t you usually do an intro, like telling us what you like or dislike?

This is so random, lol

Ichinose Natsu was supposed to be an awkward cyber girl who didn’t want to leave her room and just played games.
But she wanted to connect with people she met through gaming, so she started streaming—kind of the character background.
Originally, she was supposed to do a typical self-introduction, but considering her zero social skills, it seemed fitting to just jump straight into the game.

‘Ah, this brings back memories from my first stream.’
Back then, I just turned on the stream, said “Let’s play a game,” and played silently.
Over time, I started talking more, reacting more, and viewers joined in.
Looking back, that seems like such an old memory.
But unlike back then, I wasn’t going to play a game without talking or reacting.
I was fully prepared to chat and interact while playing.

“So, the game we’re playing today is…”
As the game screen popped up, a comic-style background music played, and a boxy character appeared on the screen.
The game was about controlling a character to reach a goal.
But it wasn’t just any ordinary game.
The twist was that the viewers could participate.

“This game is… [Somebody help me].”

Never seen this game before lol

I think I’ve seen it somewhere, haha

Is this really the kind of game you should start with?

What’s this game about?

Some people knew the game, some didn’t, but it didn’t take long for everyone to figure it out.
Look, there are already people in the chat explaining it, right?
The catch was that the viewers could add obstacles and create random events for the player.
But I couldn’t leave all the explaining to the viewers, so I subtly gave the cue.

“You can join and add obstacles or create unexpected situations. Anyone can participate, so please join in!”

As I pressed the jump key, the character on screen made a low jump with an exasperated sound.
I never expected to start with this game, of all things.
The number of participants was quickly rising, and I swallowed nervously.
…Isn’t this too many people?
It was already a ridiculous number of participants, with more than half of the people watching the stream joining in.

“And one more thing. Each time I fail to complete the level, the person who added the obstacle will get to ask me a question.”

Oh.

I was gonna just watch, but now I’ll join too lol

But if so many people add obstacles, it’s gonna be impossible to win, right?

I saw someone play this last time and almost lost their mind, lol

I’m not even sure if my computer can handle all this lol

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ve limited it to 20 obstacles max, so it won’t crash the game.”
It could have been unlimited, but that would’ve caused my computer to crash instantly.
Besides, there was a chance that I wouldn’t even get a single step forward.
Still, it’s been so long since I played a game like this.
Playing a game like this with the viewers? It’s been forever.
My heart is racing, I can’t even hold it back.

[1000￥]

Natsu-chan, are you ready? Did you go to the bathroom? Did you pray to the gods? Are you okay?
“Ready to go.”

Should I start by adding the hardest obstacles? lol

What does the airplane icon mean? Does that mean an actual plane will fall?

I’m not sure what the airplane icon means, should I just add it? haha

The ones at the end must be the hardest, right? lol

As I saw the obstacle icons popping up on the screen, I slowly blinked.
The obstacles seemed difficult, and with 20 added… there was no way I was going to clear this easily.
But honestly, I wasn’t even planning to complete it; I was here for fun.

[GAME START!]
Oh no—
“Uwah—”
As soon as I made the first jump, a plane crashed from the sky.
With a loud explosion, the flames spread toward the character, painting the screen red.
But, I wasn’t going to let my first death be from this, so I barely managed to dodge.

Wait, the airplane icon really means a plane is falling? lol

You dodged that surprisingly well, lol

Guess that’s why they’re in Gamers, huh? lol

If it’s like this from the start, what happens later?

lol

“Isn’t this a bit too much for the first obstacle? How many planes did you prepare for me—uh?”
[GAME OVER]
“…”

Well, that was expected.
Even if I was good at games, there’s no way I could avoid all the random obstacles.
But I didn’t expect to game over on the second obstacle.
I froze for a moment, looking at the gray screen, as the chat exploded with laughter.

“Hm, the first question will come from… ‘Natsu-chan, I love you, marry me’…? Not happening. Next.”

Is fan names counted as questions now? lol

Well, I guess she did answer the question, so…

So, no marriage, huh? I’m relieved.

lol

“…Just kidding, haha. So, ‘Natsu-chan, I love you, marry me’ person? Please write your question.”

I reflexively answered, but it was just a joke.
I searched through the list of fan names of the participants and displayed the chat of the person who made me fail.
Hmm… I’m not sure if I’m used to this.
As time passed, and there was still no question, I tilted my head.

[Natsu-chan, I love you, marry me: Please tell us your height and weight, while covering your eyes with your hand.]
“…”
What is this, really?

Fables