I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 117

It’s really hard to hear casual talk from Majia unless you’re not a junior.

But once you clear that hurdle, she becomes surprisingly generous.

For example, Maru and Majia can now casually exchange informal speech, even spouting some not-so-nice remarks at times.

It’s like a kind of On/Off switch. Once she gives the green light, it’s all smooth sailing, but if she doesn’t, it’s cold and stiff all the way.

Of course, using informal speech usually just means adapting to the vibe the other person wants, so it’s not like they’re giving their hearts completely.

The other person usually picks up on it too.

Like, “This must be hard for her, but she’s putting in a lot of effort for us,” kind of vibe.

So, the 2nd generation, who already had a good rapport with each other besides Majia, quickly got a lot closer.

Orca and Majia are the same age, and Ena is a year younger while Miho is two years younger.

Unlike the 1st generation, where the oldest, Rain, has a five-year age gap with Komari, they’re all pretty close in age.

Once informal speech started with Majia, they basically turned into friends.

It wasn’t quite at the level of the 1st generation who had been through thick and thin for over a year, but the speed of catching up was something else.

Thanks to that, the 2nd generation managed to clear the 4th mission just two minutes before the time limit of 5 PM, allowing them to enjoy a grand dinner.

You might wonder how a fancy feast is possible in a zombie apocalypse world, but since the concept was “a table prepared for officers sensing their demise, yet no one could eat,” it made sense.

Plus, the one-hour meal time came with a sense of relief, as the attractions also paused for a bit.

Since they had to work hard to get this food, the pasta, bread, and steak just went down the hatch.

Except for one person.

Orca showed discomfort and was the first to stop eating.

Considering she had eaten a bowl of ramen with dumplings and kimbap at the rest stop before coming to the pension, it was a rather small amount.

It seemed the restaurant’s ambiance was more like that of a staff dining hall.

While Miho, who had been screaming for her life before, was now fully relaxed and even gobbling up the leftovers Orca left behind, she chimed in.

“But is that how tough military life is?”

If it had been during a live broadcast post-debut, it would’ve caused quite a stir.

But right now, it was fine.

In fact, Miho wasn’t trying to mock Orca; she was genuinely curious about how tough it was.

“My brother’s currently in the army. My parents and I take turns visiting him every two weeks. But every time I go, he looks completely worn out.

I feel bad and try to bring him some stuff, but… he just says he’s fine even when I ask if he’s struggling.”

Orca snickered at that.

“No need to understand. It just sucks.”

“Wow, that’s some harsh wording.”

“It really does s*ck… Just being there makes everything uncomfortable. I didn’t get the active-duty soldiers at first, but after a month of being stationed, I found myself grumbling and cursing the officers. I even apologized for not understanding you guys.”

Then the vivid stories started pouring out.

Miho listening, looked appalled.

Thinking about her brother suffering like that seemed to touch her heart.

“I don’t think I could ever do it… How did you decide to join the military…? It’s really impressive…”

“I didn’t want to, but surprisingly, it suits my constitution.”

“Are your parents in the military?”

“Yep.”

Their conversation continued over lunch.

Majia watched them with a pleased expression, as if she were lucky enough to witness an early access version of the 2nd generation collab.

However, despite her desire to maintain her observational stance, once the informal speech began, Majia was easily drawn into the conversation.

Just like when she returned from a trip with the 1st generation and was surrounded casually.

As expected.

When Miho noticed Majia only ate half of her steak and pasta, she asked.

“Hey, Jia, are you already full?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’re small, so you can’t eat much… Can I eat the leftovers?”

“It’s what I was eating, but if you don’t mind.”

“Pasta is a bit heavy, but I can’t resist the meat… Hehe…”

And just like that, half of the steak vanished into Miho’s mouth.

Orca turned to Majia and asked,

“Are you really doing all that with such a small amount of food?”

Majia’s table situation was not where a teacher would usually be but was instead by the side of the members, so every team leader passing by had similar comments for her.

“Planning to take a break, huh? Good thinking.”

Even the older accountant director chimed in, “Looks like Majia’s work hours will finally normalize,” using a current meme to make her point.

Seeing such a light intake of food from someone who usually eats enough made Orca worried and curious,

“Is your work usually just sitting down at a desk? That’s pretty bearable. It’s a lot different from a soldier who has to work hard physically.”

“That’s true. But won’t you collapse from that? I barely ate enough and I fainted once during training.”

“I’ve collapsed before too, but these days I go to the hospital often, so I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Hmm. I figured that might be the case.”

Anyway, with Majia kind of being naturally abducted into the conversation, Ena stepped in to fill the role Majia was supposed to have.

Majia seemed to have naturally taken the pivotal role of the 2nd generation, thanks to her past experiences.

Ena was imagining the future of a four-person debut as she watched the trio converse.

Orca being strict but having clear boundaries.

Miho dancing on the edge, playfully pushing the limits.

And Majia, the collab cheat code, effortlessly creating incredible scenes when thrown among people.

Amidst all this, Ena mediating would surely appear harmonious.

Just like how the 1st generation has Dora as their emotional anchor and Komari as the gaming driver.

Within the 2nd generation, Ena and Majia could each play their roles.

Especially considering Majia might also be a founding member presumed to be Momo’s closest aide.

Ena and Orca didn’t react much to Majia’s debut story being told conveniently, and it was because they held great expectations for her.

“Even if it would’ve been good as a manager, being a VTuber? Even a fellow starting out?”

There was a huge difference in weight to that.

But despite that, Ena felt an unnecessary worry.

Majia kept sending signs to Ena.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to debut.”

When someone keeps trying to reassure you, it often means they might be hiding something.

“I just hope it’s not because of what I said that you feel pressured to debut…”

Ena was someone who shifted from wanting to be an idol to becoming a VTuber.

Now satisfied with her job, she had once rejected the idea of debuting due to external pressure.

If Majia was really going to debut, Ena wanted to lend her support.

Being the skilled person in the industry working hard to step out of the spotlight, who else could help her if not Ena’s father?

If she asked once, he would at least help package things enough to get past the break-even point, even if it wasn’t the best business deal.

But this was only if Majia debuted of her own will.

Ena just hoped that her spontaneous comments when she saw only three passers would not have put extra pressure on Majia.

“Jia.”

“Hmm?”

Ena leaned close to Jia’s ear and whispered.

“Remember I wanted to be an idol loved by everyone, but ended up debuting as a VTuber instead, right?”

“I remember.”

“Well, now I really enjoy being a VTuber. Maybe it’s because you’re helping me out, but now it feels a lot different. My debut situation has changed from being forced to wanting it.”

“True.”

“So, what about you? It’s not that people around you keep bugging you into doing it unexpectedly, right?”

After much contemplation, Ena posed her difficult question, and in contrast, Majia’s response came out so quickly.

“I’m doing it because I want to. I know you’re concerned, but don’t worry about it.”

So, the resolute expression revealed Majia’s true feelings.

That determination reached Ena and made her feel reassured.

“This time, she’s really going to move forward on her own to debut.”

With a relieved expression, Ena said, “Great! Let’s power through the fifth mission together after we eat!”

Majia, typically reluctant to do things she didn’t want to do, still did what Cheon Dohui said.

This conviction had been ingrained in her for the three years she worked at the company, and by now, it was second nature.

…However. What Ena had just witnessed, that fiery determination, was somewhat different from her usual “I’ll crawl around like a dog for the President and Parallel!” attitude.

After all, today’s attraction was not something Cheon Dohui forced her to do.

She just jumped into the debut preparations with the 2nd generation out of concern.

Unlike the 2nd generation, chasing after the dream, for Majia, debuting was just part of the job.

Thus, she felt the speed of her fatigue ramp up faster than usual.

At this point, all she wanted was to quickly finish the attraction and get her phone back so she could catch up on her backlogged broadcasts.

There’s nothing more desperate than a working individual with their hobbies banned.

With a spirited voice, Majia shouted.

“Fighting!”

* * *

Some people skilled in human psychology feel a deep sense of disappointment when they can’t match someone else’s emotions.

Ena was exactly such a case.

So, after understanding the complicated feelings of Majia, how would Ena feel?

Full of expectations for the upcoming activities of the 2nd generation, she felt as though she was walking among blooming flowers filled with hope that she could enjoy anything.

So, on her way home the next day.

Ena found herself talking to Maru, who called to ask how the escape room went, and unconsciously revealed her deepening friendship with Majia.

[— We ultimately failed the last mission and had to sleep in sleeping bags. Jia said she was cold, so I wrapped her up like a banana. After that, when her expression eased, it made me feel a bit at ease too.]

And that clearly stirred Maru’s jealousy.

Originally, before their debut, it was impossible for seniors and juniors to meet without the company’s permission, and they were going to discuss borrowing Majia’s time when they all eventually gathered.

But now, Majia had unexpectedly participated in the escape room attraction and became super close with Ena.

“… Really? Back then, we just watched each other rolling around in the pension and snickered.”

[I think she was trying hard in her own way? Even though she kept using me as a shield to avoid saying it directly. And did you know? Jia is surprisingly timid. She doesn’t scream, but she grasps my jumper tightly at the jump scare points, which was a bit cute.]

Of course, Ena had no intention of bragging to Maru.

No matter how much of a friend she was, she couldn’t fully comprehend the internal situation, so she thought, ‘Wow, Jia is really close with the 1st generation!’ just from hearing Maru’s words, and felt like sharing this fun moment she had with Jia.

So, poor Maru was moments away from facing K.O. after that accidental series of “what’s happening” moments.

She had spent a whole year watching for the right moment to casually switch to informal talk.

And the process of doing so was painstakingly hard for her.

But the 2nd generation just chatted away easily and laughed like it was nothing?

How could this happen…?

Naturally, Maru was feeling highly emotional throughout the day.

It just so happened that Maru was one to readily share her feelings with the viewers.

Before proceeding with content, she would wake up the chat while discussing things like café visits and would make sure to read every single small donation…

:: Anonymous Donor: I’m donating 1,000 clouds! ::

:: So what’s Majia been up to lately? ::

Thanks to this timely donation flying in, she made a significant mark on her own leaking history, proudly claiming her rank in Parallel.

“It’s all busy preparing for the 2nd generation debut. I heard you four had a cozy time, including Jia this weekend. It looked fun enough to be a little envious…”

Of course, if you look only at what she said, it wasn’t a massive leak of information.

Just a simple comment that Majia was working hard and the 2nd generation was receiving good training, something that could be interpreted that way.

But the tone of Maru’s overly moist voice sounded just like someone who’d lost a precious friend to someone else.

Naturally, the rumor spread rapidly around the community.

Especially since the malicious Majia fan group had already been extremely hyped after not seeing her for a month.

… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

[Something seems off?]

Didn’t Maru just say it was four people minus Majia,

but rather four people including Majia?

Why is it “including Majia”?

Aren’t there supposed to be four debutants?

[Comments]

— Parallel853: Was it just a mistake?

— Parallel095: It’s something people do often when talking about “such and such number of people”

— Parallel251: Oh, it does seem like that?

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

… ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

[I just figured it out!]

It’s because Majia is also debuting as the 2nd generation that it’s “including Majia”!

Then it makes sense!

It’s the three chosen separately plus Majia for the 2nd generation, whoa!

[Comments]

— Parallel194: Whoa, are you a genius?

— Parallel804: If you think about it, Maru hasn’t made a wrong slip every time she leaked info.

— Parallel055: I have to give her credit for her accuracy, hahaha.

— Parallel280: Indeed, Maru is the loudspeaker of Parallel.

— Parallel099: Whoa, if this is real, that’s some serious chills, lol.

— Parallel735: Hey, you guys know? Turns out, the 2nd generation is four people…

— Parallel946: Please let Majia debut and do 240 hours of back-to-back broadcasts seven days a week.

— Parallel744: Wait, how can you do 240 hours in a week?

— Parallel900: Those who watched Majia are on the verge of starving after not seeing her for a month, so please understand.

— Parallel052: Whoa… the forced fasting.

— Parallel255: Oh dear…

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …