Chapter 57

Ｒｅ​ａ​ｄ ｏ​ｎ ＫａｔＲｅａｄｉｎｇＣａ​ｆｅ

A Person with Korean Blood (1)

“Kon-natsu~! This is Ichinose Natsu from V-Spe Gamers!”

– Kon-natsu!
– Kon-natsu~
– So what game are you bringing us today?
– I hope it’s another game where we get to mess with Nacchan lol
– Maybe teasing Nacchan has become our new hobby ww
– Watching Nacchan’s stream feels like I’m playing with my niece
– Except I’m the one doing the teasing, not the one getting teased, and that feels good ww

Finding joy in teasing someone… maybe that’s a little mean-spirited?
As comments like “I’m looking forward to it!” and “I wanna mess with her!” scrolled by, I laughed with a bright “Ahaha.”
Still, I guess I succeeded in grabbing their attention for now.
After all, what keeps a VTuber going is nothing but the interest of their listeners.

“Ahh, today’s game is a little different from the last one…”

– Oh no
– So it’s not the type of game where we can mess with Nacchan…
– That’s fine. If you’re bad at it, we’ll roast you anyway lol
– So roasting is guaranteed either way ww
– Teasing Nacchan has become the highlight of my life lately ww
– So what’s the game, Natsu-sensei?
– Shouldn’t it be Natsu calling us sensei at this point? ww
– So how many senseis do we have now? lol
– Not like we’re qualified to be called that…
– lol

I said it was “a little different,” not completely different.
It’s still pretty similar overall.
The last game was one where viewers could add obstacles to sabotage my character, but this time it wasn’t about adding sabotage elements—

—This time, viewers themselves would be playing.

“The game we’re playing today is this!”

I clicked on the game icon, and the familiar startup screen appeared.
It was so familiar that I didn’t even notice anything off.
As I blankly stared at the loading screen, a smile crept across my face when I saw the cute little characters fill the main menu.
This game really was fun.

“We’re playing a game called Fall Guys today.”

Fall Guys.
A game where players run through chaotic obstacle courses, and whoever comes in first at the end wins.
Grabbing others, sabotaging them—it’s a fan favorite among streamers.
Though it’s definitely not a favorite for people who hate being messed with…

For me, since I love interacting with viewers, it was a game I played often.

Wait a sec.
‘Why’s the chat scrolling so fast…?’

Tilting my head at the nearly first-stream-level hype, I noticed the “grass” emoji sprouting across chat.

They’re laughing… but nothing funny’s happened yet?

Just as I opened my mouth to say something, I noticed a detail that stopped me—

[All Ages]

The main menu text was in Japanese, but in the corner of the screen, the age rating label was clearly in Korean.
Wait, doesn’t Japan not display that kind of label?

I wasn’t exactly trying to hide that I’m Korean, but I never expected to be exposed like this.
I had double-checked everything… but I missed that. How stupid of me.

“Ah, just so you know, I’m a cyber girl, so things like borders between countries don’t apply to me~?”

– ^^7
– ^^7
– Ohh, that’s how it is? lol
– She’s not actually Korean, right? Right?
– She speaks Japanese fluently, so I’ll believe she’s Japanese.
– So Natsu really was the friend Toya made in Korea, huh ww
– lol
– lol

That’s the end of the response.
People kept talking about my nationality, but I ignored it, and the topic died down on its own.
Yeah, best to just focus on the game now.

After all, today’s game is one everyone can actually join in real-time.
That “All Ages” icon was still annoying me, but what’s done is done.

Let’s enjoy it.
For now, just enjoy the moment.

“Ahh, I chose this game today so I could play together with you all. You’ll be able to chase me down and mess with me directly this time—if you can catch me, that is.”

– Was that… a bratty-loli line?
– That kind of tease coming from that voice is way too cute lol
– You can’t provoke us like that, Nacchan. We’re just gonna smile like dumb uncles lol
– Still, knowing we can mess with Nacchan is motivating ww
– Two collab-type games back to back—was this sponsored? Is this what being a real gamer looks like?
– Can you even handle this, Nacchan? lol
– lol

Huh? This wasn’t the kind of reaction I was expecting…
Maybe because of that earlier mishap, the reactions felt different than what I anticipated.
Well, not like it was definitely because of that.

Anyway, I created a game room and gave out the code—and people flooded in instantly.

– It hasn’t even been a minute and the room’s full.
– Isn’t this game supposed to cap at 50 players? Already full??
– Nacchan, you’re not just gonna play one match and end the stream, right?
– Don’t rage-quit after getting dogpiled by the chat lol
– Since it’s come to this, let’s enjoy it as long as we can…

I clicked the mouse and stared at the rapid-fire chat.
Was it time to start now?

I had a strong feeling I was about to get bullied hard…
But surely not all 49 people were going to come after me, right?

There had to be at least one who wanted a fair match against me.
…Yeah, I learned pretty quickly how naive that thought was.

Assuming Japanese viewers would act differently—that was my big mistake.

“W-wait?! If everyone comes after me, I literally can’t move!!”

Five seconds after the game began, all 49 cute little characters rushed straight at me.
By the time the match ended, I hadn’t moved a single step.
It was inevitable, really.

—

[Ichinose Natsu Caught in Flames]
[(Fall Guys “All Ages” Icon.JPG)
Ichinose Natsu is Korean? A Korean doing a Japanese VTuber gig??]
ㄴ [I thought this was a meme edit lol]
ㄴ [Wait, it’s real?!]
ㄴ [So she really is Korean?]
ㄴ [Guess that rumor Toya brought her back from Korea was true…]
ㄴ [No way a girl that cute exists in Korea. Must be fake.]
ㄴ [ㄴCheck the VOD, it’s real lol]
ㄴ [ㄴSome people just want to live in denial.]
ㄴ [Not Natsu too… What VTuber can I stan now?]
ㄴ [ㄴMaybe go with someone safe like the noble lady.]
ㄴ [ㄴSaying “stan the lady” sounds weird lol]
ㄴ [ㄴlol]

[Ichinose Natsu Flame Reaction Thread]
[(Natsu silently preparing to play Fall Guys.MVI)
“Whatever, time to just play Fall Guys lol”]
ㄴ [She’s just seriously into streaming.]
ㄴ [As long as she doesn’t “act Korean,” it’s fine.]
ㄴ [ㄴBut that “All Ages” tag was Korean. She couldn’t hide it.]
ㄴ [This is viral marketing. She’s a Korean-born Japanese VTuber trying to milk both sides.]
ㄴ [ㄴWhat kind of cursed label is “Korean-born Japanese”?]
ㄴ [ㄴDoes that make Toya some kind of ethnic Korean ambassador?]
ㄴ [ㄴ(Toya national pride meme)]
ㄴ [ㄴ(Toya waving the Korean flag meme)]
ㄴ [ㄴ(Toya saluting the flag meme)]
ㄴ [ㄴToya really is Korean lol]
ㄴ [Still, gotta respect how focused Natsu is on the game.]
ㄴ [ㄴNo way I’m stanning a Korean.]
ㄴ [ㄴTo me, she’s Japanese.]

[Natsu: I’m a cyber girl—no borders for me.]
[Just wanted to make sure Korean viewers knew the game was rated All Ages.]
ㄴ [She didn’t say that second part tho lol]
ㄴ [ㄴI read Natsu’s mind, obviously.]
ㄴ [Where did this “cyber girl” lore come from anyway?]
ㄴ [ㄴIt’s on the V-Spe homepage.]
ㄴ [ㄴDid they update her profile? I thought she was supposed to be mysterious.]
ㄴ [ㄴCompared to the others, she’s still mysterious lol]
ㄴ [She’s not a cyber girl, she’s a shut-in gaming gremlin.]
ㄴ [ㄴA sickly cute shut-in girl who only plays games… I love it.]
ㄴ [ㄴWhy don’t I have a gamer gremlin girl friend like Natsu?]
ㄴ [ㄴBecause she never leaves her room, duh.]
ㄴ [ㄴAhh.]
ㄴ [ㄴ”Ahh” my ass, you should go outside sometimes too lol]

Fables