Living in a Class-Based World

The Training Service was set to be carried out one week later at Kanda Sports.

Has it turned into a huge uproar on their side?

Yuuta strove hard in working out in preparation for that day. Then again, the issue of him doing his best in his training for the sake of receiving training struck him as somewhat odd. But, he decided to not mind it.

“Pheew… Hmm? Those are…”

As he was working out in a gym facility, Yuuta saw other boys arriving for a rare change.

“Ah…for us to end up meeting in such a place…”

The ones heading for the training room were Yuuta’s classmates. Because this particular room was reserved for men of Yuuta’s generation aka junior high third-years, the new arrivals being his classmates was the natural conclusion.

Going by Yuuta-kun’s memory, Yuuta somehow managed to match their names with their faces.

“Looks like Takuya-kun isn’t with them, however…”

Takuya was the leading boy among Yuuta’s classmates. He was also the reason for Yuuta-kun being expelled out of the class’s group chat.

“Hmm? Huh!? Why are you here?”

“Ehh? Isn’t that the scum? The shut-in trash is hangin’ ’round here!?”

Two guys entered the training room. And as soon as they spotted Yuuta, their faces warped in contempt.

“Long time no see, Kensuke-kun, Tsubasa-kun.”

“Hah? Who’s allowed you to use my name, fucker? Are you screwin’ with me!?”

Kensuke-kun immediately flew into rage over just having his name used. Apparently he couldn’t even stomach shut-in scum like Yuuta taking his name into his mouth.

“Sorry.”

“You think sorry cuts it!? Are you shittin’ me, you piece of trash!?”

“Come on, man. Knock it off. Lowering your own reputation by dealing with lowly scum like him is just a waste of time,” Tsubasa said to calm Kensuke who was getting more and more pissed off.

Yuuta also rooted for Tsubasa in his mind. After all, he’d appreciate it if he could have them ignore his presence.

“Well, I was planning to head back anyway.”

“F-Rank trash working out…what’s the fuckin’ point of that?”

“Pointlessly wasting his time, how hilarious. Makes me laugh for real.”

Yuuta stood up, trying to quickly leave the training room.

“Eh?”

“O-Oh?”

Kensuke and Tsubasa both had to look up to see Yuuta’s face. Their memory of Yuuta was still stuck to the first-year Yuuta-kun who had been shorter than them. But, the guy in front of them was taller than either. Kensuke with his height of 164 cm and Tsubasa with a height of 162 cm had to look up because Yuuta possessed a height of 170 cm.

“Y-You became so tall!?” Kensuke muttered, seeming somewhat flustered.

“H-Huh?”

And then Tsubasa noticed something else. Yuuta wasn’t just taller than them, but his body was a lot more buff than theirs, too.

“Bye.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Yuuta passed in front of the two, exiting the room. Meanwhile Kensuke and Tsubasa could only stare at him leaving, their faces dumbstruck like pigeons that got shot by a peashooter.

Yuuta ended up meeting his classmates under unforeseen circumstances. And afterwards the news that Yuuta had visited the training room immediately spread through Kensuke and Tsubasa.

When asked about Yuuta, both boys only mentioned that Yuuta had grown in height. Unable to admit that Yuuta’s body had become more muscular and leaner than theirs, they went along with their classmates’ laughter, who shrugged the whole incident off as scum remaining scum, even if it worked out.

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In the evening of the same day, Yuuta would carry out his last Video Call Service. The Video Call with the fourth person, the one right after Mayumi, had ended without leaving any good or bad impressions, just like the first person. Today he would meet the fifth woman.

Since the training with Mayumi has been scheduled, I have nine more Service Activities left to do. If it’s nine Services within two months, I should be able to somehow get it done. If it looks like I won’t cope no matter what, I can just fill up the count by scheduling a few more Video Calls.

The Video Calls were quite convenient since they didn’t require much effort from his side. But, even if they were simple enough to schedule, their ease of doing was an entirely different question.

19-years-old Shizuku-san, huh…?

Her age reminded him of the second woman who had been quite unpleasant. Of course it wasn’t as if this woman would be the same just because of having an identical age, but Yuuta ended up feeling somewhat worried due to his prejudice.

Speaking from the conclusion, Yuuta’s worries were completely unfounded. Rather, just as it happened during his call with Mayumi, his call with Shizuku yielded him some unexpected gains.

═════════•°• ⚠ •°•═════════

『And after that I got totally hooked with Virtual Streamers』

『Oh, I see』

Yuuta managed to obtain some information about streamers in this world during his conversation with Shizuku. Even his previous world had people called YouTubers who did live streams and videos. And this world had people doing something similar.

And the surprising part about this was the fact of men also working as streamers. Moreover, he learned that a man’s stream could be used as a Service.

This sounds really neat. Why didn’t I think of this myself!?

Yuuta loved playing games in his previous world. He wasn’t as good at it as pro-gamers, but he still enjoyed playing games normally.

The same applied to Yuuta-kun. That much Yuuta could tell from Yuuta-kun’s memories. After all, even Yuuta-kun’s first and last Service Activity was about playing a game with a woman.

A Streaming Service… Isn’t that awesome!?

Streaming was a highly popular form of entertainment in his previous world as well.

A FPS game, where several people compete against each other, would be a bit tough to put into practice, but I also like playing single-player games. And if it’s teamplay-games, I could also play together with women, right? That’s a lot more suited to me than Video Call Services, isn’t it?

Having discovered a new possibility during his chat with Shizuku, Yuuta kept asking her about all kinds of things related to the state of the streaming industry in order to procure as much information as he could.

『You need to register for a paid subscription to watch the streams of men which aren’t Streaming Services』

『Oh, okay. How much do these subscriptions cost?』

『The fees differ, depending on the man’s rank. Also, if I remember correctly, you need to be D-Rank to be allowed to ask for subscription for the sake of paid streams』

『Okay, I didn’t know that』

Apparently Yuuta wouldn’t be able to run paid streams as F-Rank.

『But even D-Ranks, umm…the membership for popular men is fairly expensive』

『Hee, give me an idea?』

『Let me see…it starts at 500 Yen per month if it is cheap, going all the way up to 10,000 Yen. Even at D-Rank』 ¹

I wonder whether Shizuku-san has subscribed to someone’s paid streams?

『Do these paid streams happen regularly?』

『That actually depends on the man』

『But, the subscription is based on a monthly payment, no? Won’t they at least stream several times a month?』

『Such a rule does no exist. Some men are kind enough to tell their subscribers that they will stream twice a month, but it is not like that is an unshakable promise either』

Twice a month?

『Is there an average amount of paid streams per month for men?』

『Most of them stream once a month』

『Eh? Once a month?』

『R-Right. You are lucky if it happens twice a month. It is normal for there to be no streams in a month, too』

It’s good that I asked about this in advance. It’d have been dangerous if I had streamed several times a month

『So some don’t even stream once a month despite their subscribers paying monthly, huh. Wouldn’t it be smarter to register during the times when there’s a stream available then?』

『T-That is…』

『Hmm?』

『U-Umm…there exist many cases where you cannot watch men, who only stream irregularly, if you have not subscribed to them for several months in a row. You must remain subscribed to them even during the months when they do not stream anything, if you wish to see them later on』

『Eehh? Would anyone watch them if they use such a way of handling things?』

『W-Well…if they are popular, yes』

『Ah, now I get it』

Popular men refers to superior men who have high ranks. In short, if I were to do something like this, no one would subscribe to watch me.

『Shizuku-san, are you also streaming live or posting videos?』

『Yes. I am doing it as well』

『Ohh, maybe I should take a peek?』

『Really!? I’d be super happy!』

『Huh? Your streamer name is Shizuku, or is it not?』

『Ah…』

Yuuta immediately tried to look up Shizuku’s name, but came out blank.

『A-As a matter of fact, I…have been active as a virtual streamer』

『So you got hooked on virtual streamers and then became one yourself, eh?』

Virtual streamers also existed in Yuuta’s old world. They were streamers who made content by using cute characters as avatars instead of showing their real faces. They gained popularity corresponding to the era and managed to establish themselves as content creators.  ²

『Would tell me your V-Streamer name, Shizuku-san?』

『Y-Yes, of course! My name as V-Streamer is Akane』

Once Yuuta searched for the V-Streamer Akane, he immediately found her.

What a cute avatar she’s using.

『Found it. I’ll watch it later』

『Sure! Thank you very much!』

Shizuku belonged to a company of V-Streamers, so Yuuta also took a peek at the homepage of that company, just to find many V-Streamers with male avatars over there.

『Huh? Aren’t there many male V-Streamers?』

『Ah, those are…actually women』

『Eh? They’re women?』

『Yes, they are women with naturally low voices or women who use voice changers to imitate male voices. I have never heard of real men being V-Streamers』

『Okay. …But wait, when I looked it up, I was shown an article stating that a V-Streamer called Konohamaru is a real man』

『Oh, Konohamaru-san. Yes, she’s a very famous V-Streamer. Umm, her way of speaking, gestures, and behavior are just like that of a real man. Because of that, they say she’s actually a man… It’s not limited to Konohamaru-san either. Many V-Streamers with male avatars are rumored to actually be men. Though this is mostly based on the wish of their viewers for it to be so』

『But, in reality it’s different』

『Well…as far as I know, at least』

Shizuku had avoided making a clear statement because she was an active V-Streamer herself, but Yuuta still grasped that real men probably weren’t performing as V-Streamers.

V-Streamer, huh…? Hmm, can I…use this?

Yuuta’s present objective was to raise his male rank since it was connected to him leading an affluent life. But, what about the time after he achieved that goal? It’d be only reasonable for him to do something he actually wanted to do.

I wanted to try being a V-Tuber in my previous world, didn’t I? The situation in this world is completely different, though.

Just him streaming three or four times a month as a male streamer, who showed their faces normally, would likely be considered as abnormal in this world. On top of that, Yuuta didn’t really need any paid subscriptions. He’d be fine to stream for free as he’d feel rewarded enough by people watching him.

Most of the things I need for surviving are provided to me. So I don’t really need to earn lots of money either.

『Shizuka-san, the chat with you was very fun and helpful. Thank you』

『The pleasure was on my side. I enjoyed our conversation very much, Yuuta-sama. …Excuse me, but will you be streaming in the future?』

『I’ve been thinking that it might be nice to do a Streaming Service』

『Really!? I’ll definitely watch it!』

『Thank you. However, I won’t be able to run any paid streams since I’m an F-Rank, I suppose. And men don’t stream for free, do they?』

『Eh? Streaming for free? T-That’s true…I’ve never heard of that』

『Figures』

Once I’ve improved and stabilized my own situation, it’d be quite nice to perform as a solo V-Streamer, thought Yuuta. And someday I’ll do a collaboration with the V-Streamer Akane, too.

...

1. You can roughly calculate 140 Yen per Dollar nowadays.
2. They’re called V-Tubers over here, if you haven’t figured yet. But since I didn’t want to use YouTube terminology in this novel, I went with Virtual streamers. I’ll abbreviate them to V-Streamers now that they’ve been defined.