Chapter 41

Re​ad on Ka​tRe​ad​ing​Cafe​

A Step Forward. (2)

It was a bit last-minute, sure, but having Yeoreum debut at the same time the other members revealed their new outfits? Honestly, it was a pretty good idea.
Especially since the outfits being revealed were casual clothes.

The only issue was that Yeoreum’s outfit kind of stood out too much…
But well, her concept was “a gamer from the digital world,” so maybe it didn’t matter all that much?

Anyway, that wasn’t the most important thing right now.

“You want to have a get-together?”
“Yeah! Since we’re grouped together in a unit now, wouldn’t it be nice to meet up and get to know each other better?”

Since we weren’t debuting separately but as one unit, having a group meetup sounded perfect.
Well, even if it was a “meet up,” the only one who hadn’t met Yeoreum yet was Nagisa.

I’d heard that after Yeoreum joined, the CEO had reached out to everyone.
Since she was joining out of nowhere, Nagisa was probably really curious about her.

“Sure, I’m okay with that. It’s people I’ll be working with anyway.”
“You sure you’re fine meeting Inari too?”
“…As long as she doesn’t do anything weird again.”

From Yeoreum’s expression, it was clear she didn’t really want to see Inari again.
Can’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to go out of my way to meet Inari either, if I were in her shoes.

Usually, Inari’s a great colleague, but…
She claims not to like real-life kids, and yet she gets strangely intense when it comes to Yeoreum.

Ah, maybe it’s because Yeoreum isn’t actually a child?

“Okay then, I’ll go ahead and set the date.”
“Yeah.”

I nodded and sent messages to Nagisa and Inari.
Both of them replied in under five minutes saying they were in.

Now then, what should we actually do when we all get together…?
I mean, when you’ve got three VTubers and one ex-VTuber-soon-to-redebut, isn’t the answer obvious?

—

“Kon-tomo, everyone!”

—Kon-tomo!
—Kon-tomo~
—Why are you so hyped today? LOL
—Something good happen?
—Didn’t they just reveal the new unit’s outfits? Is that why she’s so hyper? grass

“Ahh, more than that! I’ve got not one, not two, but three special guests today!”

How did it come to this?

Honestly, I thought we’d just meet up, grab a meal, chill at a café, and chat about work.
But a stream? And a collab stream at that?

My debut was still sort of a secret, so I’d still go by “Totomo-chan” for now…
But with the four of us showing up together, wouldn’t people start suspecting?

…Well, I did say I wanted to be a VTuber again, so maybe this was inevitable.

“Hai-nari~! Your cute fox girl, Inari’s here~!”
“Otsu-nagi~ Hello, this is Nagisa~!”

I’d already met Inari, so moving on.

Meeting Nagisa for the first time… she really was, how do I put it—like a classic yamato nadeshiko.
The kind of girl that made you go, “Why is she a VTuber?”

Her tone was gentle, posture perfectly proper with her hands folded gracefully on her lap.
Even her simple outfit had a noble elegance—like she was a refined lady from some noble house.

“Totomo-chan?”

“Ah, it’s my turn.”

—wwwwww
—Totomo-chan’s still so cute lol
—Wait, is Totomo-chan part of this new unit too?
—She’s basically a full staff member now LOL
—Is she debuting this time??
—grass

Maybe because it’d been a while since my last stream, I completely missed my timing to greet the viewers.
Even though I’d done so many collabs with Toya in the past, here I was fumbling…

No, wait—this was my first in-person collab. And technically, I was retired until recently.
I had a million thoughts racing through my head, but first things first—I needed to greet the viewers.

Calm down, Yeoreum. You’re overthinking.

“Kon-tomo~ Just Totomo-chan here, yep.”

“Oi, Totomo-chan. You’re cute today too. Wanna go grab drinks with me later?”

“Sorry, Inari-san. I’m not really feeling like going out today.”

—Instant rejection LOL
—Why is she being so formal??
—Didn’t they become friends last time they met?
—Well, the pervy fox is a handful lol
—This one’s totally on Inari ww
—Apologize, you degenerate fox!

Inari-san looked utterly devastated by my flat response.
Was I too harsh?

But to be fair, her comment was kinda pervy, so I reacted without thinking.
Better than her pouncing on me again… If she did that on stream, she’d be beyond saving.

…Then again, knowing Inari, she’d probably laugh and say, “Guess I passed the beast exam!”

“T-Totomo-chan… I thought we were friends now…”
“I don’t really recall becoming friends with you.”

“So mean! You’ve wounded this delicate fox heart! Look, see the big wound on my chest?!”

Yeah, right.
She’s probably thinking something like, “Woo! Totomo-chan just roasted me, jackpot~!”

If someone could read my mind right now, they’d probably scold me for being so cold to a crying person.
But anyone who missed the sly grin she was barely holding back wouldn’t get it.

She was clearly loving this.

“And with that, I think Toya should sing to take responsibility!”

“What?! Why am I getting dragged into this?!”

“Hmmm… so you’re saying you won’t take responsibility for Totomo-chan, Toya-kun?”

“Of course I will! I always have, and I always will!”

Inari smoothly passed the baton to Toya, shifting her attention like flowing water.
Toya panicked as if she’d just been thrown into a battlefield.

I quietly turned my head to avoid getting caught in their mess, and saw Nagisa-san smiling gently.
Wow… even her smile screams elegance.

“Totomo-chan.”
“Yes, Nagisa-san?”
“Since this is our first meeting, shall we have a conversation to get to know each other better?”

—Ojō-sama and Totomo-chan are like from another world lol
—Two loud ones and two quiet ones, it actually balances out well lol
—Seriously, can the other two quiet down? I can’t hear Nagisa-san and Totomo-chan!
—Feels like they’re not even reading the chat lol
—At this point, I kinda want Inari to win so we can hear Toya sing. LOL
—grass
—grass

Even though the two next to us were being loud as ever, my conversation with Nagisa-san wasn’t interrupted at all.
Not once did her voice waver or fade.

I was honestly impressed.
Even in the middle of a ruckus, she gave me her full attention.

Meanwhile, Toya and Inari kept glancing our way while squabbling. I shook my head internally.

—

[TONARI REUNION LOL]
[It’s been forever since we’ve seen the whole Tonari group! Today’s a good day!]
ㄴ[It has been a while. Not since their debut collab, right?]
ㄴ[Though technically, they weren’t “Tonari” back then. There was someone else too.]
ㄴ[True lol]
ㄴ[I really liked that person… sucks they graduated so soon.]
ㄴ[Honestly thought it’d be a chill stream, didn’t expect all three of them to show up!]
ㄴ[They’ve all been busy lately. It’s nice they made time.]
ㄴ[So glad they could all gather…]

[Inari and Toya start bickering the moment they meet, lol]
[(Inari and Toya bickering video.MVI)
Meanwhile, Nagisa and Totomo-chan are chatting all calm and quiet lol]
ㄴ[Have they always been like this?]
ㄴ[Feels like it has something to do with Totomo-chan lol]
ㄴ[Yeah, Inari teasing Toya over Totomo is probably the trigger.]
ㄴ[Sorry for our degenerate fox…]
ㄴ[Our oshi’s truly sorry…]
ㄴ[Anyway, I love how Nagisa and Totomo-chan are talking. It’s so soothing.]
ㄴ[Loud pair vs. quiet pair—great combo lol]
ㄴ[Would be nicer if the loud pair calmed down though lol]
ㄴ[Agreed lol]
ㄴ[Love the energy, but please let us hear Nagisa-san and Totomo-chan…]

[So why did these four even gather in the first place?]
[Is it for the new unit? Or just a planned hangout?]
ㄴ[If it’s the new unit, then Totomo-chan must be involved.]
ㄴ[Maybe she’s debuting too? Part of the same unit?]
ㄴ[Eh, don’t think so. The silhouettes only showed three people.]
ㄴ[Those kinds of reveals are always done last-minute. Totomo-chan gained popularity through Toya’s streams anyway.]
ㄴ[I hope she’s debuting this time.]
ㄴ[If you heard Totomo-chan whispering about her dreams, you’d be rooting for her debut too lol]
ㄴ[Already rooting for her with everything I’ve got lol]

Fables