[First Stream] The Demon Lord Awakens — Surface

—How did it come to this?

That single phrase repeated so loudly in my mind that it occupied the overwhelming majority of my thoughts.

Yet time showed no consideration for human emotions, desires, or regrets and simply continued onward, and the instant the second hand and minute hand overlapped at the top of the clock, I pressed the button on my desk, completely ignoring all of my confusion and agitation.

The animation and background music I had created began playing as the opening theme, while on-screen, a chibi character slept on the grass beneath the sunlight with a snot bubble swelling from her nose.

At the same time, comments from viewers drifting through the vast sea of the internet began flowing across the screen, and although We were still very much in the middle of being confused, Our mind calmly read and understood every last one of them.

—W-What am I supposed to do…?

—Cast aside such thoughts for now. They matter not.

The congestion inside my head was dreadful, with the panicked I and the endlessly composed We, even in this situation, erupting at once and colliding with one another.

I vaguely gazed upon memories from “when We once existed,” which had yet to fully dissolve into me, while We had already taken complete command of “my present memories.”

—Thus, with We and I apparently still not fully blended together as separate senses of self, We currently held the reins for the most part, allowing us to respond calmly without freezing up or letting any panic show.

We, the personality currently in control, raised the corners of Our lips, thinking that the me of this life had somehow grown into quite the timid sort.

“—Kuhah! What an amusing situation this has become.”

Had I still been the me who had forgotten Us, this certainly would not have been something I could laugh about.

But now that We had remembered Ourselves, there were few situations more hilariously absurd than this.

—Otherworld reincarnation.

Indeed, the transcendent magic concerning life itself that We had attempted after growing weary of Our long existence in the Demon Realm had succeeded.

That was why I had remembered Us, and why We and I were now beginning to melt together.

Although it seemed that I had been remarkably unlike Us, apparently having been what people called a gloomy, otaku high-school girl and a loner.

Still, that was hardly unreasonable.

Neither I nor We knew Our father’s face, but apparently he was a Nordic man blessed with extraordinarily handsome features.

Despite being the daughter of a thoroughly Japanese mother, Our Nordic blood had apparently manifested strongly, leaving Us with silver hair and golden eyes, while Our facial features were nothing like the understated look commonly associated with Japanese faces.

Indeed, that face was the spitting image of the one We had possessed in Our former life.

Apparently, when the soul remained the same, reincarnation tended to produce a vessel—a body—with similar features.

At any rate, perhaps because of those rather striking looks, it seemed I had attracted quite a few strange stares from those around me and had consequently become thoroughly introverted.

Apparently I had worn a black wig because I disliked dyeing my hair and had put black colored contacts in my eyes… Hmph. They were bothersome, so We removed them.

Though We and I were equally one and the same existence, because our memories had yet to fully merge, it felt almost as though two entirely different beings were sharing one body.

That said—

There was no point concerning Ourselves with such trivialities right now.

Next, We adjusted “OBS” and brought up the video feed.

It depicted a dimly lit castle, where at the far end of a long red carpet sat an illustrated version of Our former self upon a throne.

The illustration curled its lips into a smirk, narrowed the left eye opposite the right cheek resting upon its hand, and gave off an eerie gleam.

Normally, this would have been the moment when a recording made by I, delivering the lines in a rather wooden voice, began to play—but We had no intention of tolerating such foolishness now.

We muted the video’s audio, switched on the microphone, and opened Our mouth while recalling the haughty, imperious manner in which We had once addressed Our subordinates, speaking just as We had in those days.

“—Hold your heads low. Kneel. Do you not know before whom you stand?”

We stifled a chuckle—kukuku—and the words came out sounding rather mocking, but… well, so be it.

The expression on the image of Us wearing that fearless smile was perfectly suited to precisely such words.

As the screen, matching Our voice, shifted downward to show the feet of the viewpoint character kneeling upon the red carpet, We continued in a casual tone.

“Kukuku, We jest. You are forgiven. Raise your heads.”

Immediately afterward, the screen faded to black and transitioned to a 2D avatar that moved in accordance with Our actual body’s movements.

Mm. Excellent timing, if We do say so Ourselves.

Still, what is this? The comments seem to have thinned out. Did the stream lag?

No, now that We thought back on it, even when We had addressed Our subjects as Demon Lord, there had been no shortage of people who became so captivated by Us that they lost their words and simply stared.

Even if this was merely a fabricated illustration, it would hardly be strange for some to be overwhelmed by Our charisma and lose their composure.

“Now, then. There is little need for this thing called a self-introduction. Even if We were to smoothly explain everything here, all of you are presently so overwhelmed by Us that you would likely grasp not even half Our words. Therefore, We shall graciously allow you to hear only what is necessary. Be grateful.”

Mm. Even those rendered senseless by Our beauty would eventually recover if given enough time.

In the old days, We would have thrown such fools out, but there would be little point in declaring such a thing to the people of this era—especially through a video stream.

We shall proceed slowly and grant them time to recover.

With that thought, We displayed the slide containing the fan name, hashtags, and various other details that had already been prepared.

“We are Verchera Merisis, the one and only Demon Lord who ruled over the Demon Realm of another world. We stopped counting Our age after passing one thousand. Regard Us with worship and reverence, and address Us as Your Majesty. As for the stream itself… well, games and casual conversation shall likely be the main fare, though that will depend entirely upon Our mood. As for the fan name… yes, you are all Our subjects, are you not? Naturally, your fan name shall be neither more nor less than that. As Our subjects, understand the responsibility and weight that title carries, and conduct yourselves with proper restraint.”

Back when I had been in control, I had apparently intended to decide such things together with the viewers, but there was hardly any reason to fuss over every little detail. As We spoke, We directly typed the text into the slide and displayed it.

“Next, for the hashtag to be used when making remarks concerning Our streams, ‘Words of Her Majesty’ shall suffice. We shall not decide every minute detail regarding Our streams in advance. We need only determine what is necessary when the need arises.”

We would not have minded deciding everything in detail, but frankly, it did not matter.

The one thing I had devised beforehand was this “Words of Her Majesty,” and surely that alone would suffice.

Glancing over, We noticed that the viewer count had somehow increased considerably.

Only moments ago, it had barely been approaching one hundred, yet before We knew it, it had surpassed eight hundred and was closing in on a thousand.

And at the same time, it seemed a few people had appeared who wished to complain about Us.

They were likely what people called “haters,” but the fact that they had come all this way to behave so toward someone as unknown as Us was rather amusing.

“Kuhah! What impatient creatures you are. You deliberately watch Our stream merely to complain about Us, barking insults you do not even know will reach Us? Kukukuku, how delightful. Thanks to fools such as yourselves, it seems Our audience continues to grow. You have Our gratitude.”

We had no idea where they had heard of Us or why they had come, but if they intended to provide Us with a topic of conversation like this, there was no reason to turn them away.

Without interest, nothing gained value. No matter what first sparked that interest, being able to take that initial step carried great meaning.

That said, it would probably be best to make it clear that We had no intention of lowering Ourselves to the same level as such people.

After all, the comments seemed to be growing slightly heated between those already enthralled by Us and those who were not.

This would be a good time to drive the point home.

Now, dance for Our amusement.

“There is only one thing We shall say. If you truly dislike the way We conduct Ourselves, then begone at once. We have no intention of changing either Our methods or Our opinions. You are free to choose as you please, are you not? Not once have We ever sought to curry favor with you. Nor do We desire every last person alive to watch Us. Do as you please.”

After all, We were no longer a ruler.

This age was different from those days when refusing to heed Our words had been considered an act of disrespect, so they were free to do as they pleased.

“Furthermore, We have no need of those who would argue with such people on Our behalf. Know your place before presuming to speak for Our feelings. We may protect Our subjects, but never once have We desired to be protected by them.”

Well, We supposed such thinking was rather unusual for a streamer of this era.

…Still, this comment section.

Is it not being flooded with rather too many declarations of “As you command”?

You lot, are you not becoming devoted to Us far too quickly??