[Stream] From Chatting To...

“I am Verchera Merisis, the one and only Queen of the Demon Realm, the Demon Lord. You have done well to come, my subjects.”

“Hmm, it seems we have quite a few first-time viewers. Ah, yes, apparently the channel has grown considerably since that stream with Effie. Things have been rather hectic for me in real life, you see. I only noticed the subscriber count when someone pointed it out earlier, which is why I am holding this surprise stream now.”

Maiden of valor… Ah, not “masculine woman,” but “maiden” written with the kanji for a man of valor, huh?

All I could picture was some massively muscular macho man giving me an exaggerated wink.

“My apologies, but I am still a blossoming high-school girl, you know. I have all sorts of things keeping me busy. Why, there was Valentine’s Day and everything. The world has been rather hectic, has it not?”

“Hmm. Somehow, I suspect quite a few of you are sitting in front of your screens with completely blank expressions right now… Well, I was not much different. It is not as though I harbor some secret affection for anyone, and in the first place, I have absolutely no interest in such matters.”

“I am not saying I am interested in women either. I am telling you that I have no interest in romance to begin with.”

That was probably because I had once existed as a transcendent being known as the Demon Lord.

Beings like us, sometimes called transcendent species, who possessed no natural lifespan, tended not to have instincts related to preserving the species in the first place. Because of that, we also tended not to feel attraction toward the opposite sex.

Even long-lived species were already somewhat like that, so for someone like me it was even more pronounced. After all, my previous self had no lifespan whatsoever and was effectively immortal.

Well, there had been reasons why someone like me ultimately chose reincarnation, but setting that aside.

“In any case, I never imagined we had surpassed one hundred fifty thousand subscribers. I wished to properly express my gratitude. You have my thanks, my subjects.”

“No, it matters not. I would hardly become upset over something so trivial. Now then, is casual chatting enough for a thank-you stream like this?”

“Hmm, a new outfit. In my case, I can simply make one myself. Perhaps it is about time I did…? No, wait. I have only been streaming for a little over a month, have I not…? Surely nowhere near enough time has passed for anyone to tire of my current outfit.”

Hmm, troublesome.

Normally new outfits were something you revealed after steadily working away for, say, six months or so, weren’t they?

Though apparently some independent Vtubers prepared multiple outfits from the very beginning, but I was pretty sure people usually unveiled them at milestones and such.

My next milestone… probably wouldn’t be until early summer at the earliest.

“Hmm… then we shall leave the new outfit for later. I can simply make something suitable for the season.”

“Oh? It costs that much? How expensive.”

It really was harsh.

Part of me thought that if you belonged to an agency, the agency should just pay for all of it.

Maybe it was difficult to get certain things approved as business expenses…? Hmm, I really didn’t know.

But precisely because I didn’t understand all that stuff, being independent without those kinds of complications felt easier and more comfortable for me.

It wasn’t like I had some burning desire to become as famous as the top talents at major agencies anyway.

“Still, you lot are surprisingly knowledgeable. You even know all about the pricing. Are you not more informed about this than I am?”

…Yeah, people really had all sorts of stories, huh.

Though the mood seemed rather heavy on sorrow and noticeably lacking in joy.

“Enough, enough. This is becoming far too gloomy. Between Valentine’s Day and your experiences with Vtubing, you people have entirely too many emotional landmines.”

“Enough of that. When we chat like this, I cannot tell where the next landmine will be, and it is becoming impossible to manage. Still, what else should we do…?”

Hmm, let’s see… The comments seemed split about six parts drawing, three parts OFA, and one part miscellaneous suggestions.

Yeah, I had been planning to do it soon anyway, and Yuzu-neesan had just told me I should increase my collaborations in preparation for the OFA tournament, so maybe I could take this opportunity.

“Hmm. Then perhaps we shall play the drawing game that received the most requests. In that case, wait just a moment. I shall get everything started.”

As I launched the game and watched the comments… there was someone who sounded like they had lost their entire identity.

No, could we stop making it sound like there was another emotional landmine there too??

Seriously, what was with today’s chat? It felt like absolutely anything could turn into a landmine.

—Just as I was thinking that, someone knocked on my bedroom door.

…I had completely let my guard down.

Normally, even Mom never came to my room.

If she needed something, she contacted me on my phone, partly because our rooms were far enough apart that doing so was simply more efficient.

And while Yuzu-neesan was staying at our house tonight, she never came all the way to my room either, perhaps because she was considerate enough not to intrude too deeply into my personal space.

In other words, nobody normally had any reason to come all the way to this room.

Naturally, that also meant I had never bothered locking the door to make sure nobody came in.

But now—

“—My lady, I have brought you some tea.”

Reine was living in our house now.

Apparently my microphone had picked up her voice perfectly, and I froze with my hand still gripping the mouse as I stared at her.

Reine instantly took in my reaction, the fact that I was sitting in front of my computer, and everything displayed across my screen, then continued in a deliberately clear voice loud enough for the microphone to catch.

“—My apologies, Your Majesty. I was unaware that you were in the midst of official duties.”

“…Hmm.”

…She had seen my screen and my reaction, then deliberately spoken loudly enough for the microphone to hear her.

What exactly did that mean?

Wait, did Reine already know I was active as a Vtuber…?

…Ah, right.

Yuzu-neesan and I had been talking about streaming earlier, so maybe she had extracted the relevant information from that conversation and already looked everything up?

…Reine would absolutely do that.

She had always had a tendency to want to know everything there was to know, after all.

“…Reine. This is convenient timing. You may as well offer a brief greeting while you are here.”

“Would that truly be acceptable?”

“Of course. I do not mind.”

The comments were clearly getting restless, but Reine herself showed no particular reluctance. She placed the tea on the table and approached me, so perhaps she simply didn’t mind.

Maybe she had decided that a brief introduction was harmless enough.

“Then… it is a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Reinerrude, and I serve as Her Majesty’s personal attendant and dedicated maid. I hope you will remember me.”

“It seems they suspect this was staged.”

“Staged, Your Majesty?”

“They believe I deliberately arranged the entire sequence, from your entrance with the tea to your introduction.”

“I see. My apologies, Your Majesty. I have caused you unnecessary trouble.”

“It matters not.”

To be completely truthful, this was nothing more than an accident.

It wasn’t as though Reine had done anything wrong, and I hadn’t told her I would be streaming or asked her not to enter.

The viewers weren’t reacting negatively either, so as far as I was concerned, there was no problem.

If anything, judging by the speed of the comments, they were getting pretty excited.

“Hmm… this does not seem bad.”

“Is something the matter?”

“Reine. —In that case, how would you feel about trying this together with me?”

The comments suddenly accelerated.