Chapter 141

&R;ea‍d​ οｎ KαtR​eadińgĊ​a‌f​е

**Sudden Collab. (2)**

> [Hello? Hellooo~ Anyone there~?]

“…Um, excuse me.”

> [Huh? Oh—yes?]

– Switching to formal speech now won’t erase everything you just said lol

– Wait, is that really Nacchan?!

– Is this what Nacchan is like when she’s not streaming? lol

– Hasn’t she already been speaking casually with Inari for ages now? 草

– She’s been using casual speech in collabs lately too lol

– But yeah, the tone is definitely different from Nacchan’s usual

If the speech pattern hadn’t been different, I probably wouldn’t have realized something was off.

It would’ve been helpful if Nacchan had said something upfront, but it didn’t seem like she would.

Still, as I was wracking my brain trying to figure out who it was, one thought suddenly popped into my head.

> “Um… what’s your relationship to Nacchan?”

> [Haha! Hearing you speak so formally feels weird! I never imagined Inari using honorifics!]

> “So… are you one of my viewers?”

> [You can speak casually, Inari-chan~ If you’re friends with Nacchan, then you’re my friend too!]

This person’s social skills were… way too good?!

I’m not exactly shy, but hearing _Nacchan’s_ voice use that cheerful tone completely threw me off.

Ugh, if it weren’t for that voice, I wouldn’t be so flustered!

Still, that line—“If you’re friends with Nacchan, then you’re my friend too”—stuck with me.

‘So I was right, huh?’

> “Um… Nacchan’s twin?”

> [Bingo! Oh, Natsu! Was I not supposed to say that? Huh? You don’t mind? Cool!]

– SHE’S HEREEEEE!!!

– Nacchan Mk.2 enters the stage wwwww

– Technically wouldn’t she be Mk.1?

– But then Nacchan wouldn’t be _the_ Nacchan lol

– Anyway, she’s totally doing her own thing lol

– This side of Nacchan is kinda great 草

– At this point she might as well debut as a VTuber too lol

Just as I suspected—it was Nacchan’s twin.

I always wanted to meet her someday, but I never imagined it would happen _like this_!

But Nacchan… who calls their _twin_ a “friend”?! I thought you meant a _friend-friend,_ like a normal one!

Did I just mess everything up by inviting her?

Nacchan’s twin seemed fine with it, but hearing Nacchan’s voice faintly in the background gave me pause. She sounded either resigned or slightly distressed.

**[なつ has joined the group voice chat.]**

> [Haaah… You really are impossible.]

> “Nacchan? That’s you this time, right?”

> [Yeah, Inari. Sorry for the confusion.]

– Yeah, she definitely sounds flustered lol

– Inari’s smiling like a dandelion now 草

– She finally feels safe again after hearing Nacchan’s familiar voice

– Their voices are _literally identical_

– I thought Nacchan was just using a different tone for fun lol

– Honestly, her twin could totally sub in for her streams

**This. This is the Nacchan I know.**

Hearing her usual speech pattern calmed me more than I expected.

—

> [Natsu, Natsu!]

> [Yup, I got it.]

> [Natsu!!]

> [Yeah, yeah.]

Once the game started…

The aggressive frontlining by Ikamen, with Nacchan supporting from behind—it was practically _textbook_ coordination.

They must play together a lot, right? Otherwise, there’s no way they’d be this in sync.

Ikamen used a short-range, high-damage weapon to charge ahead while Nacchan supported her with a mid-range, arcing weapon.

Here I was playing normally… but those two looked like they were filming an _action movie_!

– Inari, go ask to join them lol

– So it turns out _you’re_ the reason you couldn’t reach Legend, not everyone else… 草

– _This_ is what they mean by a legendary part-timer lol

– Inari still has a long way to go, huh…

– They’re both at max score LOL

– Good thing Inari and the other person’s scores are lower 草

– You narrowly avoided hell there, Inari lol

> “Ugh, whatever! As long as they carry, it’s fine!”

I couldn’t play like that even if I tried.

So, I stuck to the basics. Fundamentals!

I used to chase flashy plays, but today my goal was _clear and steady progression to Legend._

It’s fun, sure, but too much of it ruins the fun. And more than anything…

**I just want to play something else already.**

> [Inari, should I lure the boss over to you?]

> “Y-Yeah! Wait—who just said that?”

> [Inari, it’s me! _Me_, duh?]

> “…Natsu?”

> [Nope, not me.]

> “…Huh?”

– LMAOOOO

– Don’t mess with her like that lol

– Inari straight-up froze for a second 草

– Same voice = guaranteed confusion lol

– Even we can’t tell sometimes

– Can one of you please talk in a different voice already…?

The game was going smoothly, but the _stream_? Total chaos.

The fact that they sounded the same was one thing—now even their _speech styles_ were blending. I couldn’t tell them apart anymore.

Like, just now—was that Nacchan? No? Then _who_ was it?! Oh, it was? Wait—what?!

‘So _this_ is why Nacchan hesitated earlier…’

– I’m getting dizzy…

– Is this a case of Nacchan doing both voices? lol

– Their “normal” voices are literally identical

– So Nacchan’s stream voice = real voice confirmed lol

– How do people around them tell them apart??

– But if you listen closely, you _can_ sorta tell, right?

Honestly, after a while, I started to pick up on it too.

The energetic one was Ikamen; the calmer one was Nacchan.

They were both excited from playing, so it was hard to tell at times, but even then, Nacchan talked a lot less.

Ugh, I was getting a headache.

Trying to focus on the game _and_ distinguish voices was harder than expected.

> [Inari, are you okay? Should I just stop talking?]

> “…That was Nacchan, right?”

> [Sorry, I’ll keep quiet. I’ll let Ko—um, Ikamen do the talking.]

Even after that, I could still hear Nacchan’s voice faintly in the background, but she didn’t directly respond.

So that meant Ikamen was the one talking now.

Despite all the confusion, the game itself was going _really_ well.

Ikamen took out bosses in seconds, while Nacchan threw golden eggs with perfect accuracy and kept supporting the whole time.

> “Ah, I died—wait, nope, I’m alive again…”

– Guess it wasn’t just Ikamen doing the supporting lol

– She only looked like the focus because of her role lol

– She revived her with just two perfect shots 草

– If you can’t win with teammates like this, it’s your fault

– Pretty sure this one’s a guaranteed clear lol

– Still, wow lol

> **[Clear!]**

Was it supposed to be this easy…?

I’d been on edge the whole game, but with them reviving and collecting eggs so efficiently, there was almost _no_ pressure.

The two of them maxed out their scores. Wonder if they’ll have more fun if everyone gets to max too?

Wait… am I the reason this game was easier than usual?

> [That was super fun! Usually it’s just me and Natsu, so playing with four people was a nice change!]

> “Wait… just the two of you?”

> [Yep! Like I said, just the two of us. I get shy playing with strangers~]

If _that’s_ what she considers “shy,” what does that make the rest of us?!

Is this person really Nacchan’s twin? They only share a voice—their personalities are totally different!

And judging by the way she phrased it, “just the two of us” literally meant they’d been doing Salmon Runs with _only two people_—not a full four-player team.

Which means… they were duo-running max difficulty Salmon Run…

– They’re cracked lol

– No wonder the game felt too easy lol

– Honestly, Inari should be _paying_ them for this carry 草

– This isn’t part-time, this is _professional_ tier

– Professional duo wwww

– Wait, is duo Salmon Run even _possible_?!

– If you’re good enough, anything’s possible

– 草

> “Nacchan! Let’s do one more and wrap up the night! After today, I’m shelving Splatoon for a while!”

When opportunity knocks, grab it.

Sure, there might be “next time,” but if I had a 100% guaranteed win chance _now_, I’d be a fool not to take it.

Not that I expected a free ride or anything.

Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to something delicious, Nacchan! And your twin too!