Chapter 5 : Even Though They Know He Is A Shit Person, They Say He Has A Taste For Taking Pictures.

I’ll be honest.

I didn’t expect the teaser video of Lily, the proud first virtual YouTuber, to be a massive success.

The reason was simple: there were too many uncertainties.

The peculiar art style, which I doubted would resonate with the Empire, the existence of the newly established NewTube, and my amateur editing skills were all concerning.

But the biggest source of worry was the population size.

Of course, comparing it to medieval Earth, the Astel Empire, which exists in this medieval fantasy world, had a much larger population—it was incomparable.

First of all, the Astel Empire, having established itself as the dominant nation, had not seen a major war in over 200 years.

There hadn’t been mass deaths caused by plagues either.

In the past 200 years, there was no significant event that caused population decline.

Moreover, unlike medieval Earth, the presence of divine power meant that the average lifespan was higher, and thanks to the existence of magic and alchemy, food production and the overall standard of living were far better than on medieval Earth.

Naturally, the population here was larger than that of medieval Earth.

However, compared to modern Earth, where science is extremely advanced, modern Earth still has a much larger population.

And a smaller population compared to modern Earth also means fewer users of NewTube than on modern Earth.

The number of users directly impacts the number of views.

So, of course, I thought the views would be fewer than on modern Earth’s NewTube.

But then…

Virtual NewTuber Lily

Views: 1,305,664 (17 hours ago)

1.3 million views.

It was a hit.

“…So, are you saying 1.3 million people watched this video?”

“Probably not. The same person watching the video multiple times would also count toward the views. But I’d guess at least 1 million people watched it.”

I was dumbfounded.

What the hell?

What just happened?

Was my estimate of NewTube’s user base wrong?

Did the fact that NewTube is still relatively new work in our favor because there’s less competition?

Or was it the grace of the NewTube algorithm?

“Or maybe it’s because of a gallery meme post? …No. While the meme post must’ve had some impact on the views, based on the timing of the post, it’s more accurate to say the video boosted the meme post rather than the other way around.”

“What? Did our video get posted on a meme gallery?”

Huh? Did I just say that out loud?

“Wait a moment, Your Highness. I don’t recommend checking the meme gallery—”

Title:

Why Lily Is Insane

(‘Virtual NewTuber Lily’ video link)

“At first, I thought some weirdo with a quirky taste teamed up with a wizard in the gallery to make a short video.”

(Screenshot of the video description: ‘NewTube protects the copyright of this creator’s avatar’)

“But after checking the end of the video description, I realized that wasn’t the case.”

(Screenshot of a different video description)

“For reference, other video descriptions don’t have this kind of text. It seems like if you create an avatar on NewTube and use it to make a video, this text gets added automatically.”

Why did no one know this feature existed?

(Screenshot of avatar creation costs)

“As you can see, the cost of creating an avatar is ridiculously expensive. And when you see how the avatar moves, it’s honestly depressing. No joke, it’s way cheaper and higher quality to just hire a gallery artist and a wizard to make an animated video.”

They say things like “Buying a meme gallery ticket in life” or whatever, but considering how expensive it is, and seeing that none of the gallery folks have bought one yet, the answer is clear, lol.

But Lily actually bought it.

In my opinion, Lily must be some gullible fool desperately scrambling to recover their initial investment after being scammed.

Comments (124):

“Are you serious? Someone actually bought that expensive shit?”

“It was clearly a feature designed to snag gullible fools, lol. Their intelligence must be super low.”

“Lololol.”

They’re being dragged to hell for this…

After reading this, my self-esteem suddenly rose.

“If idiots like that exist, then I must be a genius, right?”

“So what the hell is a Virtual NewTuber anyway?”

“But damn, a lot of people watched that video.”

“Honestly, the video was made pretty well.”

“If they hadn’t done a good job, they wouldn’t have been able to recover their investment, and they’d really be screwed, so of course, they had to do their best, lolol.”

“Lily, if you happen to see this post, it wouldn’t be too rude to ask you for a sandwich, would it?”

“Just one sandwich.”

“One sandwich.”

“Lol, if Lily hands out sandwiches, all the haters would instantly die, lolol.”

“If I get a sandwich, I’ll blindly worship them.”

“They’re wasting money in such an absurdly creative way.”

“I’d love to defend them and say it’s none of our business how someone spends their money, but this one’s pretty extreme, lol.”

“These days, the meme gallery standards are high.”

“Does this mean you now have to pull off something this idiotic to make it to the meme gallery? The world really does favor only the talented, smh.”

“You might just make it to the gallery yourself.”

“Apparently, this person likes trying things out, even if they know it’s shit. Lolol.”

Ah.

I ended up seeing it.

“Your Highness, those are just the ramblings of fools who fail to recognize the true value of treasure. You don’t need to pay any attention to it.”

“I’m not mad.”

“In time, when Virtual YouTubers become a trend, there will be posts in the gallery praising Your Highness for your foresight. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I said I’m not mad, okay?!”

But seeing her yell like that, it was obvious she was mad.

Still, I decided not to point it out.

I had enough tact for that.

The 3rd Princess let out a deep sigh, looking somewhat weary.

…No matter how I looked at it, she seemed pissed.

“Well, in any case, it’s good that it got more attention than we expected… But now that we’ve uploaded this teaser video, doesn’t that officially make me the first Virtual YouTuber?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then, since I’ve already secured the title of the first Virtual YouTuber, isn’t it fine to take our time before doing the first broadcast?”

The moment I heard her words, I immediately shook my head.

“That won’t do. If you delay your debut for too long, the interest we’ve managed to gain will disappear.”

From my past experience, I knew all too well how quickly people’s interest fades.

There are even Virtual YouTubers who released a teaser video and then debuted immediately after, as if roasting beans on a lightning fire.

That says it all.

“Understood. So, does that mean we need to prepare for the first broadcast two days from now?”

“Yes. …However, there’s one more thing we need to do.”

“There’s something else we need to do?”

“Yes. But it’s not a difficult task, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

After saying that, I opened the gallery.

I quickly wrote a post, left it for a while, and then replied to it anonymously.

Title:

So, are you guys going to watch the meme gallery’s clown gullible idiot show in two days?

Comment 1:

“Watching the gullible idiot’s desperate attempt to recover their investment might actually be pretty entertaining, lol.”

“Your Highness, please reply to the post with, ‘I plan to go and stir things up in the chat.’ Then I’ll respond with, ‘Let’s cause chaos.’ …Oh, and it’d be even better if Your Highness’s personal maid joined in as well.”

“What… What exactly is this?”

“It’s public opinion manipulation.”

In other words, it’s also known as ‘mask play.’

The 3rd Princess gave me a look as if she were questioning whether this was really necessary, considering that the teaser video had already surpassed 1.3 million views.

For the record, if I were to exaggerate, her expression looked like she was staring at a lunatic…

No, that can’t be.

There’s no way the jewel of the Empire would look at me like that.

She must simply be wondering if such an act is truly needed.

So, is it really necessary?

Of course, it is.

Sure, a lot of people watched the teaser video and learned about Lily, the maid Virtual YouTuber.

But how many of those viewers will actually come back to watch the debut broadcast in two days?

I can guarantee it—if even one-tenth of them show up, it would be a miracle.

Let’s think about it logically.

After watching just a 15-second video, how many people would feel curious and interested enough to remember and make sure to tune in for the broadcast a few days later?

Honestly, I even thought that more people might tune in to make fun of it or meme about it than to actually watch it out of curiosity about Lily.

Sure, it’s possible that more people than I expect will show up for the debut broadcast.

But that doesn’t mean there’s any reason not to do this public opinion manipulation disguised as promotion.

If it leads to even one more viewer watching the broadcast, it’s a good thing.

By the way, I was a bit surprised by the Princess’s reaction.

Doesn’t the Imperial Family do things like this?

I thought it was a given that they would.

And then it happened.

“…As the 3rd Princess of the Empire, Isabella Astel, I hereby issue a command to the second son of the Count of Volcan.”

“Your Highness?”

The Princess gave a sweet smile and raised her right hand.

“For insulting the Imperial Family, I’m going to hit you once, so stay still.”

“Your Highness? Wait, hold on. The post I wrote on the gallery wasn’t serious—”

In the end, I got hit.

When the Princess’s personal maid joined in, there was nothing I could do.

For the record, the 3rd Princess’s backhand slap packed quite a punch.

…Still, if getting slapped once means settling the charge of insulting the Imperial Family, I’d say it was worth it!