The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart – Chapter 154

After that, I rescued Vincent and Anna, then even used my precious skill usages to save Vincent’s comrades as well.  

Of course, nothing in this world came for free.  

“Even though we’re competitors, isn’t it nice to play the game together like this?”  

“…….”  

Vincent seemed at a loss for words.  

After that, we moved as a group.  

For Vincent, there wasn’t much of a choice. His party had barely any skill usages left, making further exploration nearly impossible.  

In the end, the only options were to either complete the expedition while leaving his comrades’ corpses to me—  

Or to come with me and retrieve them together. Those were the only choices left.  

Either way, he’d have to pay me. But if he stuck with me, he could explore more safely. It was a clear case of “if you’re going to pay anyway, might as well get the best deal.”  

Since things had come to this, I decided to be generous.  

The Iris Ducal Family estate had once been my home.  

Taking Vincent’s group with me, I headed toward the Duke’s study.  

“I played the first Labyrinthos game quite a bit. If my memory’s correct, there should be a secret passage around here.”  

“…Seems like there is. My skill is picking up on something, too.”  

Vincent agreed. Come to think of it, his class was 《Explorer》, wasn’t it?  

Behind the study lay a hidden space.  

Inside, various black magic grimoires and ritual texts were stored.  

“This… looks like it’d sell for a good price if we could take it out.”  

Vincent glanced at me, gauging my reaction. Since I was the one who found the place, he probably felt it was difficult to claim ownership.  

“How about we split it fifty-fifty?”  

“…That works for you?”  

“Of course. We’re comrades in Fantasy League, after all.”  

“The word ‘comrades’ sounds pretty strange, but…”  

Vincent nodded for now.  

I had already squeezed a good amount of money out of his party, so I didn’t mind yielding this much. Besides, I already knew everything that was hidden in this mansion.  

“It seems like this place is safe from monster invasions. We’re planning to end the stream and log out here.”  

“Yeah. We’ve wrapped up nicely, so let’s call it a day.”  

I decided to end my stream here as well.  

I could have played longer, but exploring the Iris Ducal Mansion wasn’t something that could be completed in just a day or two.  

To put it simply, the mansion had a secret underground location.  

It held the hidden truths of the Iris Ducal Family and would likely be the final objective of this dungeon expedition.  

However, reaching that place required solving several gimmicks, and with just Narin and me, it would take quite some time.  

‘Maybe I should gather more people next time.’  

This time, I had played with only Narin, leaving Mero out. Next time, I’d make sure to bring Mero along.  

Maybe inviting Rui or Sora wouldn’t be a bad idea either.  

***  

“Ah, Shina.”  

The moment the stream ended, Laura logged out.  

Narin, still in the game, approached Shina.  

“Can we talk for a bit?”  

“With me?”  

Shina blinked.  

Why was she suddenly talking to me…?  

Narin had debuted earlier than Shina and was technically her senior, but they weren’t particularly close.  

It wasn’t that they had a bad relationship. In fact, there was probably no one in Serenade KR who had a bad relationship with Narin.  

Narin was always bright, energetic, and fundamentally kind. She was the type to take care of others first whenever they met.  

But she always kept a certain distance from people.  

It was as if there was an invisible boundary, preventing anyone from getting too close.  

Not a bad person, but… a little uncomfortable to be around.  

“Wh-What is it about…?”  

“I just have a few questions! I won’t take too much of your time!”  

Narin said with a smile.  

…She wasn’t stating her purpose right away, which meant she wanted to talk in private.  

Whatever it was, it seemed like something she didn’t want others to hear.  

“I’m logging out first.”  

“Alright. Good work today.”  

After exchanging farewells with Vincent and the rest of the team, Shina logged out.  

As soon as she removed her VR gear, her phone vibrated.  

…She’s quick with the calls.  

“…Hello?”  

[Hey! So, I was thinking of learning how to dance!]  

“Dance?”  

That was unexpected.  

As far as Shina knew, Narin was someone who only played games and streamed.  

Not quite to Aurora’s level, but she was famous in Serenade for her long broadcasts. After all, her main content was marathon streaming.  

She had never shown any interest in singing or dancing before.  

[It’s the new year! I figured I’ve been too absorbed in gaming, so I wanted to try something different this year!]  

“Oh, um… I think that’s great….”  

Shina gave an appropriate response.  

…Something seemed off.  

But if she was being honest, it wasn’t a bad thing.  

Narin was one of Serenade KR’s leading VTubers, but she had a tendency to neglect anything outside of her personal streams.  

It was a tricky issue.  

“Should a VTuber just focus on their personal streams?” vs. “Should a VTuber engage in various activities?”  

The problem was that those who diversified their activities often ended up streaming less.  

That was inevitable. Simply leaving home for a recording session could mean not returning until after 10 PM.  

And after that, most could only manage a 30-minute chat stream before logging off. Some didn’t even do that, opting to just sleep instead.  

That was why Narin focused on streaming. It made sense for her, though the company and some fans might have felt a little disappointed.  

From Shina’s perspective, seeing her try something new was a positive change.  

Especially since Shina herself was a VTuber who engaged in a wide range of activities.  

[You’re going to the Badario Festival next month, right? It’s in Japan, isn’t it? When’s your flight?]  

“Sometime after mid-January….”  

[Got it! Sounds busy! You’re still doing dance training these days, right?]  

“Of course I am. …I’ve been ridiculously busy lately.”  

Shina confirmed that much.  

Yes, she had been incredibly busy.  

Team Behemoth had tournaments for three consecutive weeks, and on top of that, she had to prepare for singing and dancing at the festival. It felt like her back was about to break.  

But what could she do? This was all for making money.  

Participating in external events and performances didn’t usually help much with subscriber growth.  

However, they did offer appearance fees and performance payments. …For someone like Shina, whose academic credits had plummeted, these external events were valuable in many ways.  

[So, I figured you’d know about this kind of stuff! I’ve been trying to find a dance trainer, but it’s not going well!]  

“Oh, so that’s what this is about. Hmm…”  

[Ah, it doesn’t have to be the same place as yours! I’d just be in the way if I were there, right?]  

“T-That’s not true…! Who would ever feel uncomfortable around Narin-senpai?”  

Shina was momentarily caught off guard by the unexpected remark.  

Narin knew that Shina didn’t actually mean it, but as long as she said it like this, she figured Shina would take care of things properly.  

“I-I’ll look into it and get back to you. I can’t promise anything, though….”  

[Got it! Thanks for helping!]  

***  

Son Narin had been a good student back in school.  

It wasn’t because she was exceptionally intelligent or particularly skilled at studying. She simply had more perseverance than most.  

And maybe studying had a bit of a fun side to it.  

Of course, she hadn’t liked studying. But there was a certain catharsis in understanding something she didn’t know before.  

That little bit of enjoyment had probably helped her keep going.  

It was the same now.  

Learning something new was fun.  

Organizing what she knew into knowledge was also fun.  

【Notes.txt】  

【Climbs well. Seems to have professional knowledge and skills in climbing. A hobby? Probably enjoys camping.】  

【Doesn’t seem to like mansion dungeons much. Likely experienced one in the first game. Dislikes tedious things.】  

【Analyzes map traits well and has a good grasp of opponent psychology.】  

“When I go up against Laura, I’ll need to play the mind game well.”  

Muttering to herself, Son Narin reviewed the notes she had written.  

After finishing her call with Shina, she organized her thoughts on the day’s events. It was essentially the same as writing a diary.  

People had different reasons for keeping a diary, but she believed it was to reflect on oneself and remember things that shouldn’t be forgotten.  

“And since it’s highly likely I’ll end up fighting Laura.”  

That was why she was organizing this information. Nothing more, nothing less.  

Team Leviathan had already used their team owner once.  

Since the owner could only participate in Fantasy League three times total, the chances of Choi Gaho playing in the match against Team Gryphon were extremely low.  

That meant Aurora would almost certainly enter as a wildcard.  

And if that happened, Son Narin would also be deployed as a wildcard.  

“Yeah. No matter how I look at it, there’s no avoiding a fight with Laura.”  

Suppose she did avoid fighting Aurora.  

Then Aurora would just raid Team Gryphon’s main squad, while Son Narin would attack Team Leviathan’s main squad.  

And in that case, was there anyone on Team Gryphon who could take down Aurora?  

Especially if Aurora picked Phantom Thief, then it would be a serious problem.  

That class had a mechanic where skill cooldowns refreshed rapidly through kill involvement. If Aurora started racking up kills, the damage would spiral out of control.  

On the other hand, Son Narin was likely to pick Dragon Knight.  

Dragon Knight had incredible value once its ultimate ability was charged, but before that, it was mostly just an annoyance thanks to its ability to resurrect endlessly.  

In the early game, Phantom Thief would deal far more damage, making a snowball scenario for Team Leviathan the most common outcome.  

“Laura absolutely cannot go to the main squad.”  

A fight with Aurora was inevitable.  

Either she would win—  

Or, if she couldn’t, she’d have to at least drag Aurora down with her.  

If possible, she wanted to win.  

***  

Son Narin  

[Laura, you mentioned you’re planning a 3D stream.]  

[I’m currently looking into dance trainers. It’ll probably work out.]  

[But have you decided on a song?]  

[I’m not an expert, but I know some songs are easier to choreograph than others.]  

[If you’re okay with it, do you want to go to karaoke?]  

“Hmm.”  

I had added Son Narin on CocoaTalk, and now I was getting messages like this.  

She made a solid point.  

“What is it? Who messaged you?”  

As I was pondering over the messages, Sora curiously peeked at my phone.  

“She’s asking if I want to go to karaoke. Want to come too?”  

“Karaoke?”  

Sora blinked.  

“Who is it?”