[Stream] A Scene From Long Ago

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

After glancing at the excited comments, I looked toward Reine. Though her expression remained blank, she seemed puzzled as she looked back at me and tilted her head slightly.

“What exactly would I be doing? Unfortunately, I have never played games or anything of that sort, so I do not believe I would be a suitable partner for you…”

“Hmm. In the broad sense, games and such would eventually be included, but I am speaking of this entire Vtuber activity of mine.”

“…? In other words, you are suggesting that I also become a Vtuber and work together with Your Majesty?”

“Indeed.”

“Hmm, I suppose I should explain things properly for the viewers as well. For now, Reine, come over here. The microphone may not pick up your voice properly from there. Here, sit beside me.”

“…Um, Your Majesty? This chair seems somewhat too small for two people to sit on together…”

“It matters not, does it? I am hardly asking you to do what we were doing before dinner.”

“Th-That was…! …Ahem. That is something I would prefer you not mention in a setting such as this…”

“Khuhu, I had forgotten we were streaming. My apologies.”

I deliberately gave her a teasing grin, and Reine’s face reddened in response while the comments accelerated dramatically.

It was certainly getting lively… but somehow the number of viewers was increasing too…

Huh? Why? Did they detect teetee?

Anyway, Reine sat down beside me with her cheeks still faintly flushed in embarrassment, so I shifted the microphone slightly and positioned it between us.

You hear rustling noises? Deal with it.

“Now then, Reine.”

“Y-Yes.”

“I shall make your model for you, so would you like to become a Vtuber with me?”

“…I am ashamed to admit that I know very little about what that entails. Naturally, if it is an order from Your Majesty, I would never refuse, but…”

“This is no order. It is merely a suggestion from me. Besides, with your abilities, even after handling every household task by yourself, you would still have plenty of time to spare, would you not?”

“That is true, but…”

“The actual activities are fairly limited. Games and chatting would likely make up the majority of it. Until you grow accustomed to things, I suppose you would mostly appear together with me.”

“…Together… with Your Majesty…”

Since I was independent, there weren’t really any rules saying I had to do certain things or wasn’t allowed to do others.

At most, Reine probably wouldn’t be able to join when I collaborated with Effie-san or the others from Gem Pro.

When I streamed alone, I could simply drag Reine into it whenever she was available.

“If you are not interested, Reine, I have no intention of forcing you—”

“—I will do it. If I may remain beside Your Majesty, there could be no greater reward.”

“…O-Oh. I see…?”

She leaned right toward me as she answered, making me instinctively recoil.

Come to think of it, maybe Reine actually had some interest in becoming a Vtuber…

In our previous life, she had absolutely refused to step onto the public stage because, as a maid, she believed she belonged behind the scenes. Had reincarnation somehow changed her outlook?

“Hmm. In that case, I shall have to make Reine a body of her own sometime soon. It might also be amusing to stream part of the process…”

“Hmm? Effie’s mama?”

I had been following the comments to gauge the viewers’ reactions when one particular message caught my attention, so I checked the username.

Natsumikan-san, was it?

I quickly looked her up, and she really was the illustrator who had created Effie-san’s model. When I checked her channel, it seemed she had even streamed together with Effie-san before.

“Oh? It appears we have a celebrity among us. Perhaps I shall give you a 〆 mark.”

This ‘〆’ mark was something the channel owner could assign to specific users, granting them permissions such as deleting comments. Their username would turn blue, and the ‘〆’ mark would appear beside it.

Its official name was ‘Enforcer,’ but in the Vtuber community, it was also commonly assigned to fellow Vtubers or members of the same agency to distinguish their comments from ordinary ones.

I had never had any reason to use it before, but if she was a well-known professional illustrator, she was unlikely to do anything strange, so I figured there was no harm in giving it to her.

I also wanted to try out the feature.

“Hmm…? Why are Effie and the others here as well? Well, if you want one, I suppose I can give you one.”

For some reason, Effie, Rion, and Snow had appeared.

They had told me to call them Effie, Rio, and Suu even in private, so that was what I did. Apparently the three girls who had teamed up with me in OFA also wanted to become Enforcers, so I quickly handled the settings.

The moment I finished, some bizarre contest of one-upmanship broke out in the comments, and I couldn’t help laughing.

“…Hmm. Well, Reine, this is more or less what streaming is like.”

“I see. It is quite lively.”

“Hmm, well, leaving that aside. In any case, you wish to see me draw the basic full-body illustration that will serve as the foundation for Reine’s model during a stream?”

“Hmm? Other than this model of mine, you mean?”

‘Yeah, yeah!’

The chat was moving even faster than usual, almost like a festival, and then Suu asked to see a normal piece of artwork rather than an anime-style character drawing.

That only caused the comments to accelerate even further.

Hmm, did I have anything like that?

I generally drew with a pen tablet, but I didn’t really keep much of the data.

I had replaced my PC when I became a Vtuber, and I still hadn’t properly organized the files from the old one either.

“Your Majesty, if it is a painting you require, what about the landscape you painted that is displayed in the living room?”

“Hmm? I believe I painted that when I was in elementary school.”

“Hmm. I do not mind, but that was something I painted as part of a school assignment, so I do not have the original data.”

“That will not be a problem. I have taken a proper photograph of it with my smartphone, so please rest assured.”

Before I could say much of anything, Reine apparently decided she wanted to show it too, because she promptly connected her phone to my computer by USB and transferred the image over.

I mean, I didn’t mind, Reine.

You were surprisingly proactive.

I checked the image just to be safe, but there didn’t seem to be anything that could identify my real name, nor any particular part that needed to be hidden.

“I painted this when I was in fifth grade. We were told in class to draw something we liked, so I painted a scene I was fond of.”

“I have never thought of it as torture. I believe I painted it reasonably well, and my family likes it too.”

“I doubt there are many people who would dislike that painting…”

“Who can say? Everyone has different tastes. —Here it is.”

“…The view of the castle town from the walls of the Demon Lord’s Castle. Your Majesty always loved this scenery.”

“Indeed.”

I answered Reine as she spoke nostalgically.

What I had painted in elementary school looked like some unfamiliar Western-style city, but in truth, it was the cityscape visible from atop the walls of the Demon Lord’s Castle—a scene I had seen countless times before recovering the memories of my previous life.

It was a sight that could be called one culmination of everything the Demon Realm had achieved: a realm where culture and technology had once struggled to develop had gradually built cities, created new technologies, and fostered its own culture under my rule.

It was a landscape that embodied the fruits of the path I had walked as the Demon Lord.

That was why I had loved looking at it.

Even though I had not yet recovered my memories when I painted it, the picture reproduced the scenery exactly as I remembered seeing it in my previous life.

After regaining those memories, that fact made me realize all over again just how deeply I must have loved that view.

In the end, the questions and answers about that painting alone took up a good amount of time, and the stream wound up ending after becoming unexpectedly lively in a completely different direction.