Chapter 115

Ｒｅａｄ ｏｎ ​ＫａｔＲｅａ​ｄｉｎ​ｇＣａｆｅ

**Cyber Girl Natsu. (6)**

“Oh, right. Mom.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You’ve been watching that thing lately, haven’t you? That thing.”

“What thing?”

“If you keep playing dumb, I’ll say it myself, you know?”

At Inari’s words, her mom suddenly began sneaking glances at me.

I tilted my head, wondering why she was looking at me like that, and she quietly averted her eyes.

I seriously had no idea what was going on.

When I looked to Inari, silently asking her to explain, she looked at me with a mischievous grin.

“So, the thing is~”

“Hey! Don’t say something like that in front of the person involved! It’s embarrassing!”

“Think of it as the price you pay for not believing me~”

Still clueless, I kept tilting my head—until Inari pulled out her phone and played a video.

And the person in the video?

Her mom.

Watching one of Ichinose Natsu’s AI-generated videos and humming along to the song.

Obviously, it wasn’t just her mom who was surprised.
I was, too—completely caught off guard.

I looked at Inari in disbelief, and she just giggled with delight.

“Mom was listening to Nacchan’s songs all day, so I told her I knew the person in them. But she didn’t believe me! So I told her I’d bring you in person, and she scolded me, saying to stop spouting nonsense.”

“I _did_ apologize, didn’t I?! I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, sweetie!”

“Hmph, of course you should be sorry! You got to meet Nacchan thanks to _me_!”

Inari puffed out her chest proudly, grinning with smug satisfaction.

Apparently, Inari’s mom had been watching a lot of Ichinose Natsu’s AI singing videos lately.

Well, the first one that hit Aitube did reach #1 on the trending list, so it’s not weird that ordinary folks would’ve come across it…

Even if it wasn’t me actually singing, it _was_ using my voice, which made it incredibly embarrassing.

Especially since most of those AI videos prominently featured Ichinose Natsu’s model—and Natsu’s model looks just like me. So of course she would’ve recognized me instantly.

…No wonder she looked a little startled when we first met.

“So, what do you think? Looks exactly like her, right? I’m telling you, she’s not just some anime character or something!”

“Honestly, I don’t get how such a cute girl ended up being _your_ friend…”

“Moooom!?”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? Someone like you who completely loses her mind over anything cute shouldn’t be able to make friends with a girl _this_ cute.”

“…I’m an adult now, you know.”

To be fair, Inari really had improved a lot lately.

I guess that’s what they mean when they say people mature as they age.

Given the Inari her mom had raised, I could see why she’d be skeptical.

Anyway, it looked like right now, her mom and I were the only two feeling embarrassed.

I was embarrassed because my friend’s mom had discovered that I was Ichinose Natsu, and her mom was embarrassed because her daughter had outed her for watching Ichinose Natsu AI cover videos.

‘Well, Inari hasn’t revealed her own identity yet, but she will tomorrow…’

Judging from the mood, it seemed she hadn’t told her mom she was _Inari_ yet.

If she had, things probably wouldn’t be so light and cheerful right now.

She’d probably be getting smacked on the back or scolded with a disappointed glare or something…

Well, based on what I’ve seen of her mom, maybe not.

“So, do you work at a company while also streaming?”

“Yes… I do. I mean, streaming _is_ my job, though.”

“Can I ask what our daughter does at your company? Don’t tell me she’s your manager or something?”

“…Hmm.”

Inari, a manager?

I tried to picture it in my head, but I just couldn’t.

…Inari, as a manager?

How??

It might’ve been a bit rude, but all I could think was: _“How would that even work?”_

“If I _was_ Nacchan’s manager, she probably would’ve quit by now.”

“She’s right,” I added.

“Nacchan?! Aren’t you supposed to deny it in times like this?!”

“Well, but… I mean, you’re kind of a perv, Inari…”

As soon as I said it, I clapped a hand over my mouth.

I didn’t mean “perv” in the _literal_ sense! More like… metaphorically…

Thankfully, her mom nodded understandingly, as if she was fully aware of what kind of daughter she had.

Of course. She’s her mom, after all.

Wait—
Does that mean Inari _has nothing to be ashamed of_ when her parents watch her stream?

No wonder they were surprisingly okay with this whole “parent co-stream” idea…

“I’ll admit, I was a little worried back in high school, but since she’s clearly not into kids, I felt pretty relieved~”

“She totally pounces on _me_ though…”

I hadn’t seen Inari around actual kids, so I couldn’t say for sure.

But the fact that she constantly jumped on _me_ made it very hard to relax.

How on earth could anyone look at Inari and think she’s “safe around children”?

Honestly, if we were in Korea, she’d probably have been behind bars for violating some child protection law.

I gave Inari a deeply suspicious look, and she met it with a smug reply:

“Nacchan, you’re an adult, so it’s totally legal, right?”

“…”

“And besides, it’s not LOVE—it’s LIKE, okay?”

“Even if you call it LIKE…”

Saying things like _that_ doesn’t help at all.

With Inari’s danger levels spiking, I subtly shifted behind her mom for cover.

Uh, hello? Most people would hold back in front of their parents, you know?

Her mom just laughed softly and said, “Of course, of course~” like she’d expected this. That laugh was full of deep, unwavering trust in Inari.

Whether that trust was… _well-founded_ was another story.

“To be honest, at first I thought it was a joke. A girl as tiny as you being an adult… and the same age as my daughter? No normal person would believe that.”

“See?! That’s why it was so lucky you took that photo holding your company ID, Nacchan! If you hadn’t, my mom would _never_ have believed we were the same age!”

Honestly, she had every right to doubt me. That’s exactly why I took the picture holding my ID.

If she’d thought the ID was just a prop for a prank, I wouldn’t have had any way to prove it.
Thankfully, she believed me, and things didn’t get off to a rocky start.

I was starting to think Inari’s mom might be a lot more open-minded than I expected.

“By the way, Natsu-chan, do you mainly sing? Like an internet singer?”

“Ah, well…”

She said she’d watched the AI singing video, but hadn’t mentioned watching the actual _streams_, so…

I glanced at Inari, and she gave me a look like, _“Why are you looking at me?”_

Uh, because _you_ set up this whole meeting??

As I stumbled over my words, unsure how to explain, her mom chuckled and said I must be shy.

Which was true… but also not quite the issue here.

“I, uh… I stream.”

“Stream? Like singing?”

“No, um… mostly gaming streams… Have you heard of VTubers by any chance?”

At the word _VTuber_, her mom tilted her head in confusion.

Yeah, figured.

Now how the heck was I supposed to explain this…?

Suddenly I kind of understood how Inari felt.

Telling your parents, “I stream using a digital character on screen, with motion tracking through a webcam, and play games or chat with viewers…”—yeah, that’s a rough one.

No wonder it’s such a tricky topic to bring up.

“Nacchan, my mom’s _super_ old-fashioned. She doesn’t know anything about VTubers.”

“Hey, I _do_ know that sitting in your room on a computer all day isn’t healthy!”

“I don’t _always_ stay in my room, you know?”

Oof. A classic family squabble starting up.

Though maybe because I was here, they both calmed down fairly quickly.

If I _wasn’t_ here, how would this have gone…?

Judging from what I’d seen, probably not too badly—but still, I could kind of see why Inari felt the need to push herself to get her parents to understand.

“Sorry about that, Natsu-chan. We didn’t mean to show you something so embarrassing.”

“No, it’s fine… Honestly, if my kid were in their room all the time, I’d probably nag them too…”

“Right? You see it too?”

“Nacchan?!”

Saying that gave me a major pang of guilt. A _huge_ one.

I’m sorry, Inari’s mom.
The truth is—I’m exactly like your daughter.

Actually, I might even be _worse_.

At least Inari goes outside once in a while. If it weren’t for Toya, I probably wouldn’t even leave the house.

So when Inari gave me that _“how could you betray me”_ look, it was more than deserved.

Sorry, Inari.

But hey—
I’ve been going out a lot more lately, so… can you cut me some slack?