Chapter 13 : What on earth did Lily do wrong?

Title: So, Is Lily Really an Ice Clinger?

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Definitely an Ice Clinger.

The moment they mentioned Nefira’s Song as an example of a processed spirit summoning magic near the end of the discussion, I was convinced.

OP: What the hell is Nefira’s Song?

OP: I searched the gallery, and nothing came up.

User: It’s a completely useless garbage spell.

User: Only a true Ice Clinger who’s completely obsessed with ice magic would even know about it.

OP: But then… how do you know about it?

Title: I’ve Lived to See Ice Clingers Losing to Fire Clingers

All thanks to Lily’s karma, huh?

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Yeah, they should’ve been a little less aggressive, lol.

A mere Ice Clinger dared to attack another Ice Clinger, now they must face the consequences, lmao.

Title: Ice Clingers, Do You Even Have a Heart?

How could you abandon Lily, a fellow Ice Clinger?

What did Lily even do that was so wrong?

Did they pretend not to be an Ice Clinger and start the Illegal Ice-Fire War or something?

Did they keep pulling lame stunts over and over?

Did they wreck the gallery with Illegal Ice-Fire debates?

Did they openly refuse to cook, no matter what?

Did they insult both Fire Clingers and Ice Clingers while picking fights with both sides?

Did they badmouth Ice Clingers despite being one themselves?

Seriously, what did Lily do wrong?

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After reading this, I’ve decided to support the Ice Clingers.

Yeah, they were worth abandoning, lol.

The fact is, when it comes to ice magic, Lily is probably more skilled than most Ice Clingers.

User: Yeah, this is 100% true, lol.

User: Not even joking, they probably went around beating up Fire Clingers in the gallery.

I turned off the gallery and glanced at the Third Princess.

I wanted to ask, Did you really go around beating up Fire Clingers in the gallery?

But… judging by the way she was regretting her past choices, now wasn’t the time.

“Ugh… why did I have to mention Nefira’s Song of all things…?”

Seeing her current state, I doubted anything I said would get through to her.

Maybe I should suggest doing a casual chat stream tomorrow for her mental well-being.

For now, I’ll just quietly step back and give her some space.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

The moment I got to my room, I flopped onto my bed and started thinking about what VTuber Lily needed to do next.

Since I was the one who pulled the Third Princess into this VTuber world, I had to seriously think things through.

Most importantly… increasing subscriber count.

Subscribers are the easiest way to measure a VTuber’s popularity.

Of course, they aren’t everything—popularity isn’t just about subscriber numbers.

There are other metrics like Super Chat revenue, peak viewers, average viewers, total viewership, and video views.

But for people who don’t know much about VTubers, subscriber count is the simplest indicator.

So how do I increase subscribers?

Would streaming regularly be enough?

Should I just focus on increasing viewer numbers and engagement?

Personally, I think subscriber growth ultimately comes down to how many new people you can bring in.

So, what’s the most effective way to attract new viewers?

There are many ways—consistent streaming to expose the channel to new audiences is one approach.

But if I had to pick the two most effective methods…

A viral original song.

A hit YouTube Shorts video.

A viral original song can bring in an insane number of subscribers when done right.

…Of course, saying that is easy—actually making one is another story.

First of all, the bar for success is ridiculously high.

We’re talking at least 10 million views for a song to be considered a true hit.

On top of that, creating a high-quality music video for an original song takes a lot of time, money, and effort.

Even if I wanted to increase my chances of success by making multiple attempts, it wouldn’t be easy.

And there’s no guarantee the song will actually succeed.

It’s not just about quality—luck plays a role too.

That’s why, instead of pouring everything into one big gamble, investing in Shorts— which require far less time, money, and effort—feels much more tempting.

“But… I don’t have any Shorts yet.”

YouTube Shorts are basically a cheat code for gaining subscribers.

Some people call Shorts subscribers “fake subs,” but that’s only because Shorts are incredibly effective at pulling in new viewers.

Considering how many hit VTuber songs gained traction through Shorts, it’s likely that making a song go viral without Shorts will only get harder.

Shorts will probably get implemented eventually, but since I don’t know when, maybe I don’t need to focus on them right away.

For now, preparing an original song might be the better move.

If I go that route… I should prepare two songs.

One targeting the current trend in the Empire.

One designed specifically for when Shorts finally get introduced.

That way, I’ll be ready for whatever happens.

Then, Once Shorts Are Released…

Once Shorts are available, I’ll release the second song immediately.

Then, I’ll start pumping out Shorts related to the original song like crazy.

It would be ideal to have the Shorts videos ready in advance, but explaining why we’re making them ahead of time is a bit tricky.

So, I’ll probably have to wait until Shorts are actually implemented before making them.

“Alright, I’ll bring this up for discussion tomorrow.”

The Next Day

After explaining my plan, the first thing the Third Princess said was:

“Everything sounds good… but how exactly are you planning to make this music video?”

“Well, since we don’t have the skills to do it ourselves, we’ll have to hire someone capable, right?”

“…That’s what I’m asking. How are you going to do that? You have to meet them in person.”

“Ah.”

“That means there’s a risk of exposing Lily’s identity.”

Even if Anna goes instead, she’s the Third Princess’s personal maid, so the risk remains the same.

That would make me the least suspicious candidate to go… No, wait.

The moment any of us personally go to commission the work, we’re already increasing the risk of exposure.

On modern Earth, you could commission a video remotely without any problem, so I hadn’t considered this issue.

So, do we just make it ourselves?

A music video?

No way.

A low-quality MV would just ruin the original song.

“Even outsourcing this is going to be a hassle…”

Still, if we wanted to play in the big leagues, we had to outsource it.

We needed a way.

A way to commission this without exposing the “red pill”—without revealing the truth.

“…Should we set up some kind of proxy system to hide the red pill?”

“…Rei Volkan?”

If we pass the job through one person, then another, then another—by the time it reaches the final destination, the chances of the red pill being exposed should be significantly lower.

“No, that would make communication too difficult.”

“Rei Volkan.”

With so many layers, the final product might not turn out the way we want it.

We needed clear communication.

“Then—”

“Rei!!!”

I flinched.

“Y-Your Highness?”

“You were so deep in thought that you didn’t even respond when I called. …Is what you were thinking about really that important?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Is it so urgent that it must be dealt with immediately?”

“…No, it’s not.”

“Then don’t rush. It’s good to be motivated, but rushing will do more harm than good.”

…Was I rushing?

Did I seem that way?

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Yeah.

I shouldn’t be in such a hurry.

It’s only been four days since debut, and our performance so far has exceeded expectations.

There’s no reason to be impatient.

“Good. I’ll think of a solution too.”

Slowing down a little wouldn’t hurt.

As I made that decision, I felt a bit more at ease.

After That Day’s Stream

“…Something feels off.”

Isabella muttered to herself, recalling the events from earlier.

Yes, it was strange.

Why did Rei Volkan seem so anxious?

Was the inability to outsource a music video really such a serious issue?

That wasn’t the only thing.

She hadn’t said it to his face, but the expression he made when he realized remote outsourcing was impossible—

It was as if he had just been told he was about to face immense hardship and trials.

“Is it really that much of a problem?”

“Still… thanks to Your Highness’s words, he seemed to have regained his composure.”

At Anna’s remark, Isabella wore a slightly bitter smile.

“…Honestly, I didn’t want to say that.”

Anxiety and ambition are two sides of the same coin.

If you completely suppress one, the other can fade away as well.

And despite everything, Isabella didn’t want to see Rei Volkan lose his drive.

After all, the reason she had taken an interest in him in the first place was because of his seemingly baseless confidence—

And the reckless determination that came from it.

It was going to be boring for a while.

With a sigh of regret, Isabella thought so.

“Your Highness. It seems we’ll need to fabricate a bit of a situation.”

And the very next day—

That thought completely vanished.