Chapter 168

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**”LIVE ON. (3)”**

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**[Everyone ready? Then let’s get started!!!!!]**

“It’s starting…!”

With Toya’s shout, a loud cheer erupted from the speakers.

I’d heard they temporarily allowed Totomo fans to use their mics for a more authentic live concert experience. Anyone who wanted to scream could scream to their heart’s content, thanks to the system they set up.

Technology is amazing nowadays… or rather, _are all those really Totomo fans cheering?_

I thought about lowering the volume, but decided to leave it as is—it made it feel more real.

_Creaaak—_

“Huh, is it here?”

“Ah, Miko-san!”

“Yoohoo~ Natsu-chan’s here too~”

The next to enter after Nagisa was another familiar face.

Not familiar from frequent meetings, but rather from a recent one—but still, familiar.

“By the way, this is the performers’ waiting room?”

“Ahaha… yeah, it ended up that way.”

Toya didn’t want to leave me alone, so she placed me here—but in hindsight, it was probably the most appropriate spot for me.

Performer waiting room… yeah. Even if it’s a surprise appearance, I _am_ technically performing.

In that sense, Toya had a weirdly sharp instinct.

Though, she didn’t notice I was practicing singing, oddly enough.

“Hm~ I get the feeling now!”

“You do?”

“Yup! My cutie-pie had the same vibe as you, Natsu-chan~ Said they wanted to surprise the twins or something~ Though Toya-chan and Natsu-chan aren’t actually twins! But you know what I mean? That desire to see their eyes go wide in surprise?”

“…That’s pretty accurate.”

I could more or less guess who Miko-san meant by “twins.”

She was probably referring to those black-and-white two.

But the surprise I wanted to pull off felt different from whatever surprise was between them.

I was putting my whole heart into it, after all.

And despite how it may not suit me, I was seriously nervous, too.

“Just relax. When you’re nervous, you can’t perform your best, you know? And isn’t the song you’re doing one you _shouldn’t_ sing stiffly?”

“…Ah.”

“Hehe, that face like, ‘How did you know?’ But hey, I’m also active on iTube, so of course I’d know! It keeps popping up in my algorithm.”

…True.

I wasn’t keeping that song a secret or anything, so it wouldn’t be strange for Miko-san to know about it.

Especially since she’s here backstage at Toya’s live, she might have guessed right away.

And just like she said, the song I was planning to sing was definitely one you couldn’t perform while nervous.

Not because it was technically hard—but because it needed a lot of emotion. Singing it too stiffly would ruin it.

“You’re going for perfection, aren’t you? I haven’t known you for long, but Natsu-chan, you give off that perfectionist vibe.”

“…What made you think that?”

“For example, the way you approach games—oh, wait, was I not supposed to say that?”

“Don’t tell me… you’ve watched my streams?”

“Hmmm, who knows~? Maybe consider that the real me and Miko-san are different people, ‘room master’?”

“…Ah.”

**Room master.**
Just hearing those words made me turn my head instinctively.

Not because I disliked them—just… the idea that someone like Miko-san had watched my streams was _so_ embarrassing.

A die-hard midsummer fan—so-called _Summer Squad_—I never imagined I’d run into one like this.

Least of all that it would be **Miko-san**.

“Asking for an autograph would be bad manners, so… how about a little afterparty when the live’s over? You and Toya-chan both, of course.”

“I… I’ll have to talk to Toya first.”

Honestly, Toya’s singing for almost two hours—don’t know if she’ll have the energy for an afterparty afterward.

As for me, I’m like her right-hand man—or more like her little clingy sidekick—so I’ll go along with whatever Toya wants.

“Well, alright. We’ve got time anyway! By the way, your movement’s _super_ smooth~”

“It is, isn’t it? When I first became a VTuber, it wasn’t like this at all.”

“Right? Back then, we couldn’t even imagine 3D tech like this. Though tech’s progressed _so_ fast.”

Roughly three years. Long if you think about it, short if you don’t.

But I wasn’t the only thing that had changed in those three years.

The VTuber scene—this whole _world_—changed a lot.

It went from a blue ocean to a red ocean. Now people debut with 3D models from day one, and tons of talented individuals come out of the gate swinging.

In that sense, I was lucky.

If people hadn’t been watching me from back then—or if I’d debuted even a bit later—I might never have earned this much love.

**[Boring days, I’m sick of ‘em!]**

“She sings well~ Toya-chan.”

“…Yeah, she does.”

To think Toya, who always avoided singing, is out there on stage belting it out.

I stared blankly at the giant screen filled with Toya’s image, clapping quietly.

So up until now, you weren’t singing seriously, huh, Toya?

Watching her now made me realize that all those past practice sessions and streams—she’d been holding back.

**[The ticking hand makes a sound, like a monster urging the night to end~♬]**

“How about it, think you can beat her?”

“…I’m not really trying to win. I just hope I don’t come off looking too lame.”

I never felt like I was competing with Toya.

It’s just… she was way more amazing than I expected, and it kind of made me shrink back.

As Ichinose Natsu, I’ve never sung live in front of an audience before.

Even back as Han Yeoreum, I never had a proper live.

Well, technically, I transformed _right before_ my live debut, so yeah.

“Right, Toya-chan now has live experience. But you, Natsu-chan, have none.”

“Then… could I get some advice from a live veteran like you, Miko-san?”

“Me? Hmmm… if you saw my first live, you’d probably rethink asking me, haha. But if you _still_ want advice…”

She raised her index finger with a mischievous grin.

“A live show is all about confidence. Even if your pitch is off, your high notes crack, your timing’s a bit off, or you forget lyrics—confidence can cover it all. Though, of course, too many mistakes are still a problem.”

“Can confidence really make up for all that…?”

“Telling you—it works! Though yeah, mess up too badly and the listeners _will_ roast you.”

Seriously, I got endlessly teased after my first live!

Looking at Miko-san laughing like that made me feel a bit less nervous.

…She’s right. If I mess up, I’ll just get teased for a while.

“So just enjoy it, Natsu-chan.”

She smiled gently, and I nodded.

Let’s not overthink it. Let’s just enjoy the moment.

If I get so caught up in worrying that I miss Toya’s performance, that’ll be another regret on top of it.

—

**[Why is Toya singing so well?]**

**[(Toya singing.MVI)]
She sounds way better than during her usual singing streams??**

ㄴ[Seriously, why is she so good ㅋㅋ]

ㄴ[Would you believe this is the same person people once joked sounded like a zombie tearing throats when she debuted?]

ㄴ[ㄴ(Natsu isn’t human, confirmed)]

ㄴ[ㄴ(Toya isn’t a zombie, confirmed)]

ㄴ[ㄴBack then she had vocal cord nodules, remember…]

ㄴ[ㄴNow she just sounds a bit husky, that’s it.]

ㄴ[Why is she so good, Kim Toya ㄷㄷ]

ㄴ[ㄴHonestly sounds like she was a professional singer before.]

ㄴ[ㄴShe’s so good, I’d believe it if she _was_ a singer.]

ㄴ[So she wasn’t serious during her singing streams before?]

ㄴ[ㄴMaybe she just got better through practice ㅋㅋ]

ㄴ[ㄴA VTuber who keeps improving ㄷㄷ]

**[So is this a solo Toya live today?]**

**[She’s been alone on stage the whole time, so maybe it’s all her?]**

ㄴ[There’s no way she can carry a whole 2-hour runtime solo.]

ㄴ[ㄴIf it’s Toya, maybe she can.]

ㄴ[ㄴ…What.]

ㄴ[ㄴActually, with Toya, it might really be possible ㅋㅋㅋ]

ㄴ[ㄴDamn it Kim Toya, are you really someone who can do a 2-hour solo live?!]

ㄴ[If anyone has the stamina, it’s her.]

ㄴ[ㄴBut there’s choreography too—it’s probably impossible.]

ㄴ[ㄴ(If it’s Toya’s country, it’s possible emote)]

ㄴ[ㄴIf you know the origin of that emote, you’ll believe in the 2-hour solo live theory ㅇㅇ]

ㄴ[But Miko’s definitely appearing, right?]

ㄴ[ㄴMaybe just as an MC?]

ㄴ[ㄴInari’s MCing part 1, Nagisa’s doing part 2 ㅇㅇ]

ㄴ[ㄴSo she _is_ appearing then.]

ㄴ[ㄴBut what if Miko just came to eat with her and isn’t performing?]

ㄴ[ㄴMiko’s on break today. She’s 100% performing. If she doesn’t, I’ll cut off my chili pepper.]

ㄴ[ㄴGet in line.]

ㄴ[ㄴGet in line.]

ㄴ[ㄴGet in line.]

ㄴ[ㄴStop lining up you psychos;;]

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