LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 74
Japan’s winter break is only a mere two weeks, which is really super short.
At this rate, shouldn’t we just rename winter vacation to crying break?
Maybe? Since it starts off fairly similar to South Korea but the duration is so much shorter, “winter break” might actually be accurate.
And right now it’s December 30th. This so-called two-week winter vacation is already on its fifth day.
I wish someone would just tell me it’s all a lie…
[No matter how much you try to run away from reality, it’s no use now, Izumi.]
In the midst of my escape from reality, Koga’s sharp comment hit me.
I want to tell her to stop reading my thoughts so casually, but maybe it’s pointless at this point?
“…Is it really something I must do?”
[Of course, you have to. Were you planning to skip it?]
“W-Well, honestly, it’s kind of abrupt and overwhelming. I’m not sure if I… deserve it or not…”
The only thing I’ve done on my broadcasts is burn down the community, right?
Of course, I get that it helped with the growth of my channel, which doesn’t have any other redeeming qualities, but even so, this feels too much…
[I skipped the 100K commemoration broadcast, but for the 150K endurance and commemoration streams, you HAVE to do it!]
“Ugh…”
That’s right. The topic of conversation between Koga and me right now is about my channel, which is on the verge of hitting 150K subscribers.
Currently, my channel’s subscriber count is 140,893.
Just a few days ago, it was only 110K, but the clip from the Christmas broadcast spread, and suddenly, 150K is in sight.
Fortunately, that insane growth rate seems to have stopped since yesterday.
…Wait, is that really fortunate?
What was so entertaining about that solo broadcast that it ended up like this…?
Anyway, my endurance stream continues until the subscriber count hits 150K.
And afterwards, Koga insists that I must have a commemoration stream for reaching 150K subscribers.
“But a subscriber endurance stream is usually just chatting or a singing stream, right? Isn’t it a bit much for me to tackle right now…?”
If I have to wait until I hit 150K after starting the stream, it’s definitely going to take a while.
At the very least, won’t it take about two hours?
…So I have to chat with everyone for two whole hours?
No matter how positively I try to think, isn’t that just impossible?
There’s no way I can do a singing stream with my stuttering habit.
[…That is indeed a good point.]
“Right…?”
It’s not like I’m planning a celebration for hitting 200K; doing a commemoration stream for just 150K feels a bit off, doesn’t it?
Of course, I know that as someone who has favorites, the Izutomo want me to do endurance and commemoration streams.
I also wanted Natsune to broadcast every time her subscriber count ended in 5.
But I’m different from Natsune, so I think it’s okay to approach this differently.
[I know you realize how nonsensical that is, right? Just check a few comments in the community, and you’ll see.]
“…Is my new thought that easy to read?”
[Izumi, you’re pretty simple, so it’s really easy.]
I see.
Well, anyway, I already know what Koga’s words mean.
If I just search my name on Nater…
[Mei-chan, will you definitely have a broadcast for 150K?]
[You skipped the 100K, so if you skip the 150K too, it’ll be complete chaos!]
[Have an endurance stream on December 30th and a commemoration stream on New Year’s Eve!]
There’s nothing but these sorts of comments.
But you know, when I hit that 100K mark, things were pretty rough, so I couldn’t help it.
In the end, all I could offer was a simple thank you.
Of course, the Izutomo are aware of this, so there were no complaints about my not having a 100K commemoration stream.
Rather, I should be grateful that they quietly let it pass.
Really, I’m thankful. But to think they would use the fact that I skipped 100K as leverage…
“…Isn’t it a bit too much for the Izutomo to think like that?”
[If I were an Izutomo, I’d think that you skipping 150K is even worse!]
Koga’s point was spot on.
But…
“C-Can you believe that I, of all people, would be the first among the second generation to hit 150K…?”
Even Koga, who puts in a tremendous amount of effort among the second generation, is still in the late 120K range, right?
And Akabane, Aki, and Utsumi are all putting in way more effort than me…
Of course, I don’t want to compare subscriber numbers to rank people.
But in the end, broadcast numbers reflect viewer counts, right?
So to think a loser like me is up at the top of that scale just feels wrong.
I’m not the one who deserves to be there.
I don’t want to witness the efforts of those who have worked hard being betrayed like this.
[…‘Loser’ you say? What’s wrong with Izumi? I think Izumi’s broadcasts are super fun. I’ve learned a lot just from watching them.]
“B-But my broadcast time is low… and I can’t even keep up with RP, and I’ve only been creating chaos…”
[Your low broadcast time is just because you’re still a student, right? The fact that the RP is collapsing is actually part of Izumi’s charm now. And how serious can ‘chaos’ have been?]
Koga completely turned my words into solid arguments.
I had a lot I wanted to say, but I didn’t know how to phrase it.
“Well, b-but Koga and the others…”
[Izumi. Being too humble is just deception. And you’re not going to tell everyone to unsubscribe right away!]
“That’s, true.”
[So stop feeling strange burdens. For the endurance stream, you can just read maikarons while spending time, right? You’ll end up chatting for a couple of hours as soon as something you know pops up anyway.]
“…I-I shouldn’t make those mistakes again… Right? …Hopefully.”
Honestly, I can’t guarantee that.
In all those instances before, I never meant for it to happen.
Somehow, I just ended up that way without even realizing it.
[If chatting streams are so burdensome, participants in dotumachi will definitely be satisfied. You haven’t participated in dotumachi with me or the seniors even once.]
Dotumachi? That seems tough…
[Sure, I can imagine dotumachi being challenging for Izumi, but it’s still content that can’t be avoided for a lifetime. I think it’s a good opportunity to start now.]
“Y-Yeah… I’ll think about it.”
[Right. Then good luck with your endurance stream tonight and the commemoration stream tomorrow! Let me know if you decide to do dotumachi.]
“I understand…”
After Koga ended her personal call with Misukod, I glanced at the time, which pointed to 1 PM.
Since I want to hit 150K as quickly as possible before taking a break, I think I’ll start around 5 PM.
So I should post a notice on Nater first.
★
[Izumi Kainoh☆Star’s Flow @KainoIzumi · 6 minutes]
I’ll be doing an endurance stream to reach 150K subscribers today at 5 PM!
I’ll be reading maikarons, so please pay a lot of attention!
★
[【150K Endurance Stream】Let’s pass the time reading maikarons! #KainoIzumi#StarsFlow]
“So, uh, today is the long-awaited maikaron time, but…”
In the corner of the screen was the number 141,001.
It was the current count of my subscribers that didn’t need saying.
-I never imagined Mei-chan would be the first among the second generation to hit 150K.
-What does that feel like?
-The queen of chaos, who has burned even the fires of hell, has made it this far…
=Maker JP¥ 50,000: Mei-chan, you didn’t skip 150K, good job!
=Los JP¥ 30,000: Keep going past 200K, 300K, and on to 1 million!
An unusually high number of viewers and more red hyper chats than usual.
Honestly, this is incredibly daunting…
But now that I’ve started the broadcast, I can’t just back out, right?
Koga also said she’d support me.
“First off, I’d like to share my current feelings, which are a bit? No, overwhelmingly um, dazed…”
Am I really qualified for this? Those thoughts cross my mind.
“…But knowing that everyone is supporting me like this lets me know I’m here.”
-It’s embarrassing to say that so directly (#ﾟﾛﾟ#)
-You’ve come so far to be able to say this kind of thing, Mei-chan!
=ILU JP¥ 15,000: Thanks to Mei-chan, I’m always energized! Please keep it up!
“Ugh… The hyper chats are so m, many that I’ll read them later.”
Right now, there are so many hyper chats that it feels like I’m getting hit with as many as when I first passed monetization.
If I try to respond to all of them, there’s no way I’ll get to read maikarons at this rate.
“Well then, let’s move on to maikarons…!”
[Haizumi!]
[It’s already 150K in sight! As someone who’s watched since your first live broadcast, I have so many thoughts!]
[Thinking back, Mei-chan applied to Star’s Flow to find someone to talk to, right?]
[I think that part has been more or less settled, but do you have a new goal now?]
“Wow, someone who’s actually watched from the beginning of the broadcast. This person seems like a strange one…?”
-What does that even mean to a long-time viewer, lol
-This is one top-tier calamity!
-This is one of Mei-chan’s charms!
No, it’s not wrong though.
Even if I’ve grown a bit since then, thinking back to that first broadcast was just a mess, wasn’t it?
At that level, other people were just clapping for the black cat.
Of course, I’m truly grateful that those who watched back then are still here now.
“Goals, goals…”
Initially, as maikaron said, I just applied to find someone to talk to.
Then I thought about having broadcasts where I could proudly say I’m a member of Star’s Flow’s second generation.
If you were to ask me whether I accomplished that second goal… it’s tough to nod my head, but still, I think I’ve been trying my best.
I think it’s okay to start setting new goals now.
“There is a goal. Yes.”
I know it’s going to be tough in the short term.
No one knows better than me how my personality and habits make achieving that hard.
‘But endurance streams are usually just chatting or singing, right? Isn’t it a bit much for me to tackle right now…?’
That’s right.
It is tough for now.
But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up.
[So next time, we’ll be standing on this stage together. Got it? It’s a promise!]
“I-I want to stand on stage and do a live broadcast…”
That is my goal, something I’m currently too scared to even do a singing stream because of my stuttering habit.