Chapter 118

Rê​aｄ on K​a‍tRe​ɑdıng̈Ｃâfｅ

**Cyber Girl Natsu. (9)**

“S-Stop it already! You can watch my stream archives _after_ the broadcast!”

“Oh my, oh my oh my…”

“Haven’t you seen enough of my embarrassing moments already?! Let’s move on, next topic!”

**–But we still have so much we wanna show lol
–Doesn’t matter, Inari Mama can just look it all up herself anyway 草
–Inari being embarrassed is a rare treat ww
–Please do streams like this more often ww
–Watch your own archive with your mom, stream edition lol
–草**

“Then, why don’t I share my thoughts about visiting Inari’s place yesterday as a little break?”

“…You’re not gonna say anything weird, right?”

“Of course not.”

Nothing bad happened, and honestly, even if I _did_ say something, it’d just be small stuff. Like how lunch was delicious.

Inari seemed a bit dazed still, so I figured I’d give her some time to recover. In short—just buying her a breather.

Anyway.

“Well, I had lunch at Inari’s house today.”

“I hope it suited your taste~ I made it to my kid’s liking.”

“It was _amazing_, ma’am.”

For someone like me who’s had almost no chance to eat real home-cooked food—maybe none at all—Inari’s mom’s cooking was like a once-in-a-lifetime delicacy.

Not only that, but her cooking was genuinely top-notch, so I ended up eating way more than I usually do.

Normally I’d have one bowl. This time, I went back for seconds… maybe even thirds.

My stomach was sticking out afterward, so I guess that says it all.

**–Inari Mama x Nacchan is so wholesome…
–Why does _this_ feel more like a mother-daughter duo lol
–Calm and polite Nacchan + graceful and kind Inari Mama…
–Honestly a great combo lol
–Maybe Inari’s actually the friend visiting the house here? 草
–I wanna eat Inari Mama’s cooking too…**

“Really? Then come over anytime. If you want, I can make you meals every day.”

“A-ah, th-thank you…!”

Was that one of those “adult being in a good mood” kind of answers?

Of course, I wasn’t actually planning on visiting every day. That wouldn’t be polite, and more than that, I didn’t have the stamina for daily outings like that.

Plus, Inari’s house is a decent distance from ours.

“Jeez. What was _so_ delicious about it anyway…”

“Maybe it’s just that you eat your mom’s food every day, so you don’t realize how good it is?”

“Exactly. Natsu-chan says it’s delicious, yet you’re always whining about wanting sushi. Keep that up and you’ll be eating sushi three times a day.”

**–Sushi three times a day lol
–That sounds great… and also awful. Like, I love it, but I _couldn’t_ eat it all day every day. 草
–I could do it.
–Wait, does Inari Mama _make_ the sushi herself?!
–Handmade sushi by Inari Mama…
–wwwwww**

Inari pouted hard while her mom countered playfully. Inari made a face like she was deeply offended, muttering about how even good food gets boring if you eat it every day.

Fair point. Even with games, doing the same thing every day makes you burn out fast.

**[¥1000 Super Chat]
“Inari Mama, what was your first impression of Nacchan?”**

“Oh, was that question for me?”

“You don’t _have_ to answer, Mom…”

Maybe she was more cautious because it was _about me_ rather than herself.

Inari looked over at me for reassurance, and I gave her a nod. I couldn’t imagine her mom saying anything bad, and honestly—I was a little curious too.

“She was _so_ adorable! I remember thinking, ‘_That’s_ Inari’s friend?!’ She had shown me a picture, but in person, she was even cuter.”

“A-ah, th-thank you…”

**–Even Inari Mama acknowledges Nacchan’s cuteness ww
–I wanna meet Nacchan in person too
–I wanna cook for Nacchan too
–How cute _is_ she if even Inari Mama says so lol
–Nacchan being all shy is adorable ww**

I’d been told I was cute before, but being complimented like this _in front of others_ felt really different.

Like… way more embarrassing. Probably because I’d never really been told I was cute before now.

Her compliments kept coming too—like how watching me eat was like seeing a small woodland creature and it warmed her heart.

“Well… honestly, I think Natsu-chan might’ve made a bad friend choice.”

“Moooom?!”

“Oh come on. If _you_ told me you’d become friends with someone like Natsu-chan, wouldn’t you have reacted the same way?”

“…I guess?”

“See? I’m right.”

**–At this point, they feel more like sisters than mother and daughter ww
–Kinda jealous how young and vibrant Inari Mama is
–Nacchan, you should just be friends with Inari Mama instead ww
–Honestly, seems like a better match than Inari herself 草**

Inari’s expression was visibly shifting in real-time.

Maybe she was a little shocked that she and her mom were _so_ alike after all.

“By the way, Natsu-chan, you sing really well…”

“Eh? M-me?”

**–Ah.
–Aaaaah…
–Clones of Nacchan _do_ sing well ww
–Isn’t the original pretty good too?
–But we haven’t heard her sing live yet 草
–Seems like Inari Mama doesn’t know the whole story yet…**

Come to think of it, we hadn’t explained this part to her mom yet.

I glanced over at Inari, and she had a matching worried look on her face.

Probably better to explain it properly now than let her find out later and feel bad.

“I, um… can’t really sing. My health isn’t great.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t ask her to sing, okay, Mom?”

“Oh dear, I didn’t know… I just assumed she was singing herself with all those videos online.”

“Those are AI. They sing using my voice data. These days, AIs can sing in other people’s voices pretty easily.”

**–Cyber Girl Natsu ww
–Been using her voice model a ton lately ww
–Every time a new song drops I beg my clone Nacchan to sing it lol
–There _have_ been a ton of those uploaded lately
–The next big thing after Vocaloid, honestly ww**

Yeah… the number of videos really _had_ exploded.

Even if just 100 people made one each, that’s already 100 new uploads.

And at first, the songs were kinda awkward, but now the AI has learned so much, and the users have gotten better at mixing—it’s gotten super polished.

It’s reached a point where there’s now an actual “Cyber Girl Natsu” tag being used widely. Kind of wild.

“I’m so sorry, Natsu-chan.”

“No, it’s okay…! Really, it’s my fault for not explaining it sooner…”

**–Honestly, this _is_ Inari’s fault for not explaining it lol
–Boooo Inari boooo
–Our Inari is sorry, Mama…
–Seriously though, this one’s on Inari 草**

“No…!”

Inari looked like she was about to cry, but sadly, _not one single person_ in the chat came to her defense.

At this point, teasing Inari was probably the fans’ favorite pastime _and_ primary goal.

Still, I couldn’t just stay silent forever, so I tried to defend her a bit. After all, not explaining sooner was my fault too.

“It’s not your fault, Nacchan. You just don’t like talking about your health because you don’t want to make others worry.”

“It’s not really that thoughtful… but yeah, I guess I tend not to bring it up…”

“That’s why you should be grateful to Nacchan, Mom!”

“Is that so?”

“It _is_ so!”

**–Getting déjà vu here…
–They really do act like a real mother and daughter lol
–This isn’t scripted, right? 草
–Not saying anything to worry others = Nacchan is too kind.
–But Nacchan… sometimes, being honest about your health _is_ the kinder thing.
–She’s always been like this. Even when sick, she’d stream without a word.
–It’s actually gotten way better lately ww**

Please don’t bring up the _Han Yeoreum_ days…

As the chat shifted into a wave of people trying to virtually pat my head, I laughed awkwardly.

…I don’t think I’ll _ever_ get used to this kind of thing.

Fables