Chapter 6: Uninvited Guest

“Haneul, wait a second.”

-She’s here? She was inside after all? But why isn’t she answering?

“Ugh….”

Yoo Haneul, pressing her head against the front door lens like a thumbnail for a Vocaloid song.

There was no way I could stop her.

Despite usually being quite a shy person, she occasionally does strange things.

She had actually broken my front door before.

Back then, I was wondering how she managed to break it without any tools, and if all the VTuber settings are real…

‘Did she really use magical girl powers to break into my house?’

Wait, but she’s a magical girl? That gloomy, alcohol-addicted, hikikomori, mentally unstable Yasuni?

Well, it was already funny that she was a magical girl VTuber with such a dark character, but if she really is a magical girl, that’s a different story.

So, at least before the front door gets broken again, I guess I’ll just let her in…

“Human, who’s out there?”

I was about to grab the doorknob to turn it, but then I suddenly realized that Shia, who had somehow crept up right next to me, was now tilting her head curiously, and I paused for a moment.

‘…Shit.’

This seems like opening the door will definitely cause a mess.

The first day of the MCN launch, and already the company might collapse—somehow, I have to stop this from happening. What should I do?

-Huh? A woman’s voice?

In the midst of that, Haneul’s voice from outside the front door starts to grow colder and colder.

“Haru? Who’s in there? Is it a woman? Who is she? You don’t like women, right? Is this a dangerous situation? I can’t let this slide. Should I just come in?”

In this dire situation, I glanced at Shia, who was next to me, and whispered in a low voice.

“Shia, could I ask you for one favor?”

“…Hm?”

“If you grant me this favor, I’ll grant you a wish later.”

Right after that, the expression that appeared on Shia’s face was…

“…Hehe.”

For some reason, it looked like she was giving me an expression that made me feel like I’d deeply regret what I just said someday.

***

-Screech…

After reaching some kind of agreement with Shia, I felt a strange sense of unease as I opened the front door, sensing Haneul’s presence, which had strangely gone quiet.

Hot.

Then, she, who had been rummaging around in her chest, was startled and quickly shoved whatever it was back into her clothes.

…Could it be a magic wand?

That thing?

Having unintentionally taken her red pill, I couldn’t help but think that what I briefly saw looked like a magical girl’s essential item, a magic wand.

Could she really have been trying to break the front door with magic?

I think it was a good idea to open the door after all.

“So, what’s going on… huh?”

Anyway, I tried to hold Haneul outside as much as I could to ask what was going on, but before I could even speak, she squeezed her way inside the house.

“Where is it? Where? Where is it?”

“…Haneul?”

“Mm-mm, you don’t have to hide. It’s a one-room apartment anyway. I’ll find it quickly.”

Muttering like that, she began searching for something with cold, dead eyes.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re looking for, but…”

“…Aha, yeah. Of course, it’d be here.”

Suddenly, she stopped in front of the soundproof booth, exuding a cold aura, and forcefully grabbed the doorknob to turn it.

“I found it, this bitch…”

Then, with eyes gleaming like a horror movie killer, she leaned into the soundproof booth.

“Eh?”

Unfortunately for Haneul, there was nothing inside that she was looking for.

“Meow.”

“Is that a cat?”

On the chair in the soundproof booth, a cute black cat was just scratching its head with its front paw.

“Hah, Haru, do you have a cat?”

“…Ah, yeah. I found it a while ago.”

“Ah. Really? I see…”

Of course, the one sitting there wasn’t a cat, but Shia in the form of a cat.

Since the ability to transform into something based on what I’ve learned was something I had created, I thought it would work, but I didn’t expect her to mimic the behavior completely.

Anyway, it looks like I managed to get past the hurdle somehow.
 
“I definitely heard a human voice though…”

“Hey, Haneul…”

Anyway, having gotten through the crisis in exchange for a wish, I grabbed Haneul’s shoulder,
who was rummaging through the drawer of the soundproof booth with a dazed expression, and spoke in a low voice.

“Sorry, but could you leave now?”

“Huh?”

“What are you doing suddenly barging in like this?”

Then, her eyes, which had been a little distant, quickly returned to their usual awkward state.

“…S-Sorry.”

“If you know, then leave quickly.”

“Ah, um… So, um…”

It was only then that I confirmed she had fully returned to her original hikikomori state, Haneul.

I sighed and opened my mouth.

“Did you come here because you saw the broadcast?”

“Ah, yeah…”

“Sigh, I’m losing it.”

Haneul is fine, but she’s way too overprotective.

Of course, I know that she’s been like this since forever, doing it all for me, but sometimes, when she gets this worked up, it’s hard to stop her.

“Did you think there would be a VTuber in my house?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

“Haneul. I’m not an amateur. There’s no way I’d do a broadcast with a woman in the same soundproof booth.”

Anyway, since she’s not a woman but an otherworldly being, I wasn’t lying.

“…Right?”

“…”

“Hehe, that’s a relief.”

Haneul, hearing those words, hugged me with a grin, but luckily, I didn’t get any signs of fear of women.

After all, I’ve known her since she was very young, and… well, how should I put it?

Her chest is a bit masculine, so it’s within my comfort zone.

Of course, when she transforms into a VTuber, the size drastically changes, but I highly doubt she’d go that far in front of me.

By the way, Shia doesn’t feel like a woman to me, so I don’t get any trauma from her.

Though I feel like I might develop a different kind of trauma…

“…I said, if you understand, then could you leave already?”

“There’s something else I need to tell you…”

“What news?”

“Before that, I have to ask, are you fully back now?”

I tried to push this hikikomori out as quickly as possible, but she easily braced herself against my force with her two feet and opened her mouth.

“Well, you could say that.”

“W-Well then, do you want to collaborate with us?”

“…Huh?”

Collaborate?

Even though the first broadcast hit a million views, we’re still in the middle of debuting!

“That damn mascot… no, the CEO said that, since you and I are close… he asked if we could try doing something like a collaboration.”

“Hehe.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure…”

Anyway, I was open to the idea of a collaboration.

If there were multiple first-generation members, it might be different, but for now, with just Shia, a personal collaboration would be quite helpful.

“Actually, I’ve been getting a lot of requests like that recently…”

The problem was, not only from Haneul’s group, but also from my personal email, I was receiving a flood of collaboration and joint broadcast requests.

[Maou Lily: Haru, do you remember me? I heard you started your MCN, do you need a Maou army-themed group? Now, my subordinates are all ready…]

[Kurogami Izuna: This isn’t an official Cuesayshu contact, just a personal request. Would you be interested in a secret collaboration with Villains 2nd Generation…?]

[GloVerseContact: Hello, it’s been a while. We welcome your return to the “One-a-Day” channel and would like to propose the following…]

[SupernaturalOfficialAccount: Haru-nim, we’d like to discuss amendments to the existing contract terms. Please let us know a convenient time for you…]

Even now, a flood of messages kept pouring into the open inbox on the monitor.

“These crazy bitches who ghosted me back then…”

“……?”

“I kept in touch through the whole scandal—drank together, gave advice, been close since we were kids. Didn’t even like me, but now that the truth’s out, suddenly they’re all ‘besties’…”

Then Yoo Haneul, sneaking glances at the screen, began muttering nonsense again—like her madness had flared up once more.

“What the hell are you even saying?”

“They’re all fake. Collaborate with us instead.”

“…Haru-ya, I’ll get in touch with them, and we’ll sort out the schedule then.”

“Soon.”

“…Mhm!”

When she grabbed my arm with that pitiful look, I could only sigh and nod.

Even if she acts like this, Haneul is one of my few real friends.

She stuck by me when things were rough…

“Then, I’ll crash at your place tonight.”

“Sure… Wait, huh?”

“I even brought booze!”

Nah, this is too much.

“My place is tiny, though. Where would you even sleep?”

“We’ll share like when we were kids. Problem solved.”

“It’s fine, right? We’re childhood friends. Childhood friends don’t see each other as ‘man and woman,’ right? So it’s okay. Yeah?”

I tried brushing it off, but Haneul—now shaking a bag full of expensive liquor (Guess she lost all sense of money after making bank.)—had a death grip on my arm.

She was dead serious.

“…Ugh, suddenly I feel chills.”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ugh, uuugh… My hands and feet are shaking…”

But as long as I had my ultimate move to shut this down, there was no way she was spending the night.

“I-Is it the trauma again? Wh-Where’s your meds?”

“…No. Just get out.”

“Ack! O-Okay, okay!”

I dropped to my knees, gasping for air, and Haneul’s eyes went wide before she scrambled backward.

“Then—just gimme a sec!”

“……?”

Wait, why the hell is she bolting into the soundproof booth instead of the front door?

***

Click…!

Panting wildly, Yoo Haneul slammed the booth door shut behind her, then fixed her gaze on the cat lounging in the chair.

“…Irregular Lifeform Classification 001-EX.”

Her voice—icy, detached, a complete 180 from the bumbling mess she’d been with Haru—would’ve sent chills down even the steeliest spine.

Her expression? Pure terror.

“If you even think about touching Haru, I’ll expose your true form on stream and jump off the fucking building.”

“Behave.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the cat—previously wearing a dumb expression—curled its lips into a faint smirk.

“Also, Haru hates women.”

“Stay at least a meter away from her unless you’re alive.”

Haneul’s voice dripped with barely contained violence, her glare sharp enough to flay skin.

“If even one of those disgusting tentacles grazes Haru, I’ll—”

“We cuddled and slept together just yesterday, though?”

“…What?”

The cat’s tail split open, a second mouth whispering lazily as Haneul’s face went blank.

“She was delicious.”

The black cat grinned, all teeth, in the middle of this nightmare.

“YOU FUCKING BITCH—!”

In an instant, her eyes rolled back again as she pulled a magic wand from her coat and lunged forward—

“A-AARGHHH….!”

“Gasp—Haru?!”

When Haru’s scream pierced through the soundproof booth, her face went pale with horror.

After shooting the cat a murderous glare, she bolted outside.

“So you’re not from another dimension, but a being of this world after all…”

The black cat—no, Shia—watched the scene quietly before murmuring in a low, intrigued voice:

“But how does she possess supernatural powers? Earth is supposed to be an absolute no-intervention zone…”

“Haru! Breathe! Breathe! Hah—”

“…As expected, I’ll need to gather more intel.”

At the same time, her elongated tail coiled around the computer monitor, humming as it began to resonate.

“Heh heh… Nothing can hide from me.”

She could feel the vast flow of data seeping into her—a grotesque smile spreading across her face, the kind no ordinary cat should ever make.

“…Oho? What’s this?”

(Incidentally, it remained a secret that despite her terrifying demeanor, she’d fallen into the endless rabbit hole of YouTube Shorts within just 10 minutes of connecting to the internet.)