I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work
Chapter 197

Shakei seemed genuinely shaken after dropping into the losers' bracket.

“I can’t believe I lost... to a rookie...”

He must’ve been sure he was going to win this match.

And I had just shattered that confidence.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame him.

But still, seeing someone who’d been so full of energy earlier now looking that defeated—

It did make me feel a little bad.

I wasn’t even sure we'd be playing Soul Clash today, but...

I’d practiced for this just in case, based on Iyura’s prediction.

That guess turned out to be right, and luck had definitely played a part.

So I walked over to the losers’ bracket side and leaned down to whisper into Shakei’s ear.

“I didn’t win easily, you know. I just got a little lucky.”

And it was true—each match had gone to 3:2, the whole set ending in a tight 2:1.

It hadn’t been a one-sided win by any means.

Shakei snorted and muttered under his breath.

“I went easy on you, dumbass.”

“You... did?”

“Yeah. Newbie courtesy. Ever heard of it?”

Still, feeling bad was one thing—messing around was another.

Once someone opens up to me, I naturally let my guard down too.

And once I’m relaxed, teasing is kind of my default.

So even though I knew I should’ve kept it cool, the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“For someone going easy on me, you sure looked panicked the whole match.”

“What did you say, punk?! You trying to climb over me now just ’cause I went easy on you?! Huh?!”

“I mean, pretty sure everyone watching could tell...”

But oddly enough, that seemed to please Shakei.

“Kiri always beats around the bush, but you? You just throw punches straight to the face, huh.”

“...Ah. Sorry if I offended you.”

“No, I actually like that. All that fake politeness and saving face? Doesn’t mean much with people like us.”

“Probably ‘cause you’ve all known each other for a long time.”

“Exactly.”

He clicked his tongue and glanced sideways at Kiri.

“But Kiri... that girl still won’t fully open up. Fame might’ve made it worse. She was always the type who never said anything bad about anyone, but now? She’s way more guarded than before.”

“She definitely seems like the type to always put things positively.”

“Makes me look like the asshole, huh?”

“If you were, I’d just say so. You’re a little blunt, sure, but not what I’d call an asshole.”

“You just blurt that out, huh... Can’t you tone it down when you barely know someone?”

“You just said you liked honesty. I know how to read the room too, you know.”

“You’re sharp for your age—wait, how old are you again? Not that far from me, huh. Damn.”

Shakei scratched his head and added,

“Anyway, see you in the finals. I’ll crush everyone in losers’ bracket and come back swinging, so get ready.”

“Got it.”

“And don’t forget what I said earlier.”

“The Erabitori performance?”

(Erabitori: a Japanese version of a first birthday celebration where the baby "chooses their future.")

“Yeah. You want that winner’s prize, don’t you? Think it over before the finals. That was your last chance.”

It might seem like he was obsessed with that Erabitori performance thing—

but that’s because, despite how he acts, he’s the vocalist of a band with serious clout in Japan.

He was trying to do me a favor.

Singing at Shakei’s kid’s Erabitori would massively boost my name recognition in Japan.

It could be the moment when “Fan_C” went global.

CAT Entertainment once told me that to be considered a true global star, you need at least 50% of your audience to be international. I’m at 30% right now—so this wouldn’t hurt.

Still, a bet’s a bet.

I don’t like winning these things through loopholes or favors.

“I do want it, really—but like I said, I want to earn it fair and square.”

“Pffft... You really know how to get under my skin. Now I’m fired up. You better be shaking in that winner’s bracket.”

“Just don’t lose in losers’ bracket before you get there.”

“Shut it. Get outta here.”

When I returned to my spot, Kiri—who had been watching me the whole time—asked with a smile,

“You seem to be getting along with Shakei pretty well?”

“Yeah. He’s way more fun than I expected.”

That made Kiri burst out laughing.

She still felt a little hard to read, so I just waited quietly for her next move.

She laughed for a while, then without a word, simply walked over and sat down at the joystick for her match.

...Maybe she still feels a little awkward around me too.

Or maybe, just like Shakei said, she’s naturally guarded.

Not long after, Iyura walked over to me, shaking her head. She’d just lost and dropped into the losers’ bracket.

“I really am hopeless at games...”

“But you’re a great singer.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Meanwhile, you’re good at singing, good at games, good at everything...”

I ignored the compliment and asked the question that had been bugging me.

“Earlier, when Kiri asked if I’d gotten close to Shakei, I said he seemed fun—and then she just laughed and walked away. What was that about?”

“Oh.”

Iyura looked genuinely impressed.

“Congrats. You’re officially one of us now.”

“Huh?”

“Shakei’s kind of like the gatekeeper of this circle. Just being a good singer doesn’t mean you have a good personality. That’s something both Kiri and Shakei believe in—and it’s why they started this whole group.”

So Kiri had been watching the whole time.

From behind the bar, half a step back from the spotlight, she’d been observing me and how I handled Shakei.

I figured that might be the case... I just didn’t expect it to be exactly right.

“And since you got along with Shakei without causing drama, I think she really respects that. Plus, to be fair, Shakei liked you from the start. So yeah... it all worked out.”

Looks like I’ve managed to settle into this group pretty well.

I haven’t even had a real conversation with Kiri yet,

but I never expected to score points with her like this.

Shakei’s words suddenly came back to me,

and I couldn’t help but wonder—maybe Kiri does find it hard to open up to people.

But... that’s something I’ll hold off on speculating about until we’ve actually had a real conversation.

Whatever the case, jumping to conclusions only leads to misunderstandings.

***

The matches continued late into the night.

Magia climbed easily through the winners’ bracket all the way to the finals.

Shakei, despite being knocked into the losers’ bracket, clawed his way back without much trouble.

But in the end, the final winner... was Magia.

“No way...”

Shakei was clearly stunned.

He’d worked hard in the losers’ bracket to recover his momentum, making it to the finals in top form.

But Magia had completely shut down his attack routes—more thoroughly than she had earlier.

Final game score: 3–0.

Shakei didn’t manage to take a single round with a score higher than 3–1.

A clean, crushing defeat.

“You seriously an AI or something...? How the hell did you memorize every pattern I used earlier...”

“It was pretty standard Water Flash play. Your patterns were easy to read.”

“Ugh.”

“At this rate, you’re going to drop back to Gold.”

“Argh—!”

After the match, when even Shakei admitted defeat,

Kiri brought out the winner’s panel—handmade—and a bouquet of flowers to present to Magia.

Magia bowed to each person who congratulated her, then turned to the slumped-over Shakei.

“Um... would it be okay if I still came to the Erabitori?”

“...Why would you want to? You’re the one who won.”

Magia smiled brightly.

“I want to go regardless of the bet. It’s a special day for the baby, right? Besides, weren’t you going to invite everyone here anyway?”

Of course, he’d planned to invite everyone.

But he and Magia were still a little awkward, and from the beginning, their interactions hadn’t exactly been warm.

He’d been rough with her at first, and he wasn’t the type to invite someone to his kid’s first birthday party just to smooth things over.

He had hoped to use the game as a reason to force the invite without making it weird.

But then she’d beaten him. Soundly.

He was already stewing over how to deal with that—

so for Magia to offer on her own like this... it really meant a lot.

Not that he’d ever show it, of course. He just pouted.

“...Well. If you’re offering, I’ve got no reason to stop you.”

Kiri chimed in with a grin.

“What he means is ‘thank you for saying you’ll come.’”

“Hey!”

Watching them bicker like that, Magia couldn’t help but laugh—

a laugh she’d been holding back all night because she’d thought it might be rude.

“S-Sorry. You two just remind me of someone I know. Always at each other’s throats, but weirdly close. Every time they talk, it sounds like a fight.”

“Huh? This isn’t fighting. This is just how we talk.”

“Shakei’s got such a bad personality people assume it’s a fight.”

“What the hell?! I’m always the bad guy, huh. Whatever...”

Shakei trudged over to the bar, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and poured himself a slim glass.

Watching him, Kiri asked casually,

“So? What song do you want her to sing as your winner’s prize? I brought the loser over, so make it count.”

The prize for winning was this: the loser had to cover a song chosen by the winner.

It was a little disappointing that Kiri herself wasn’t the loser, sure...

But hey, the real goal had been achieved anyway.

Plus, the one who did end up losing—Chika, the vocalist from Blue Society, the band that had warmly welcomed Magia earlier—wasn’t someone Magia felt any pressure asking.

Originally, she’d considered asking for a cover of her debut single, Common Fan,

but since Blue Society was a rock band, she opted for Frenemy instead.

Once she made the request, Chika smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

“Cool. I’ll prep it and post it as soon as I can.”

“Thank you so much.”

“I’m just glad I can help our super rookie grow a little faster.”

“I hope I grow enough to help you out too someday.”

“Oho~ That mean you’ll cover one of our songs too someday? That chorus in Frenemy tells me you could totally pull it off. I’ll be waiting.”

“Yep. Gotta repay the favor, no matter what.”

One way or another, today’s exchange would definitely boost Magia’s visibility.

The real question now was—how many more fans could she bring to the girls’ concerts from this?

With that in mind, Magia decided to simply enjoy the rest of the event.

Pushing herself any further wouldn’t really gain her anything extra.

Just forming connections with these top-tier J-pop artists was already going to pay off down the line.

It’s not like getting their contact info was easy, after all.

And with more than ten A-list J-pop musicians now saved in her phone,

Magia’s contact list could officially be called golden.

Still, after all that intense gaming, her throat was starting to dry out.

Now that her nerves had settled, the thirst hit her all at once.

So she quietly slipped away from the crowd and headed toward the bar.

There was a water dispenser nearby—just a quick drink and then back.

That’s when someone followed behind her and spoke softly.

“You want another one of those from earlier?”

She turned—and there was Kiri.

The same Kiri who had kept at least a three-meter distance from her all evening...

was suddenly much closer.

Magia nodded eagerly.

“Yes, please. I was really thirsty, actually.”

“Then take a seat at the bar and wait, cutie. I’ll whip it up for you in no time.”

“Okay.”

Magia hopped onto a barstool with a little bounce.

Kiri stepped behind the bar, picked up a bottle, set down a glass, and added a few clinking cubes of ice.

Then came the fruit, the deep red juice, the stirrer—spun around gently.

While mixing, Kiri asked,

“Just to be sure... are your songs open to covers? Or do people need permission from your company?”

Magia blinked, caught off guard by the question, but answered immediately.

“As long as it’s not monetized, I’m pretty sure they don’t get involved with covers.”

“Really?”

A moment later, Kiri slid the crimson non-alcoholic cocktail—a Strawberry Daiquiri—across the counter to her.

And said—

“Then... would it be okay if I covered one of your songs?”

Magia, just about to take a sip, froze.

“...What?”