chapter01 · 007-ep7
Episode 7: The Chatting Stream, Part 1
【You're Telling Me That】Thug Ojou-sama Theory Thread【Wasn't Fake, Desu No?】
678 Passing-by Anon
Guys! Ojou-sama just announced a live stream! 【Elegant】Karin Yamada's Ladylike Live Chatting Stream【Refined】 → URL Starts 18:30
679 Passing-by Anon
She's laying the ojou-sama stuff on thick in the stream title lmao
670 Passing-by Anon
'Elegant' (dead serious)
671 Passing-by Anon
'Refined' (intense pressure)
672 Passing-by Anon
She definitely saw "Thug Ojou-sama" trending lol
673 Passing-by Anon
Lmao
674 Passing-by Anon
Making us laugh with the stream title alone is cheating lmao
675 Passing-by Anon
I have high expectations, desu wa
676 Passing-by Anon
Screw homework, I've got a stream to watch!
○
"I made that great big declaration to Mafuyu... but now that the time has come, I'm terribly nervous, desu wa... For real, I'm shakin' like hell, desu wa..."
After school, with the stream ready to go, Karin sat in front of her computer and took deep breath after deep breath.
No matter how hard she tried to calm herself, her heart felt ready to burst through her chest and a clammy sweat wouldn't stop coming.
She was definitely more nervous than she'd been on her first trip into a dungeon.
Though she was sitting right at her computer, she could scarcely look at the stream setup screen.
"L-let me see, everything's ready, is it not...? My notes on what to say, the same dress and hair color I use in the dungeon, the furniture arrangement... Perhaps that piece should be moved just a little to be more Elegant."
She looked around her room and adjusted the position of the ojou-sama-like furniture she'd collected for the day she might stream from home before a large audience. For a certain reason, these pieces had cost her next to nothing and were handmade with a lot of love. She'd thought no one but Mafuyu would ever see them, which only made her fussier about their placement. This was her tenth adjustment already.
Still, she had good reason to be this anxious.
"M-my subscriber count has grown since this morning, too, so I can't be too thorough in my preparations...!"
Subscribers had kept arriving while she was in class; she'd already passed 450,000.
"Karin Yamada" was still trending, and few people in the streaming world had more attention on them right now. Of course she was nervous.
"H-how many people might come... A thousand, no, perhaps even three thousand, desu no... Wait, it's time already, desu wa!?"
She absolutely couldn't be late to her first stream after going viral.
There was no more time to fret over the furniture or her hair. "I-it'll be fine, desu wa... I just have to speak the way I imagined..." Steeling herself, she clicked Start Stream.
"H-here goes, desu wa!"
Karin appeared on the screen. The stream began.
"G-good evening, everyone. This is ojou-sama explorer Karin Yamada's Elegant chatting stream, desu wa."
She delivered the line she'd rehearsed so many times in her head with elegance.
At once—
【SHE'S HEEEEEEEEERE!】
【Been waiting since the announcement!】
【She's exactly like the ojou-sama from THAT video!】
【Nice to meet you!】
【Here from the video!】
【Been waiting!】
【Ojou-sama!】
【Ojou-sama of Poetic Justice!】
【Thug thug ojou-sama!】
【Thug ojou-sama for justice!】
"HWOUGH!?"
A strange noise escaped Karin's mouth at the countless comments racing by.
【Lmao】
【Lmfao】
【That was NOT a noise an ojou-sama should make lmao】
【How unladylike, ojou-sama!】
【The mask came off right out the gate lmao】
【We need to spam more comments and make her panic】
(Wh-what IS this!? What's going on, desu no!? Is it one of those spam tools, desu no!?)
Her mind went blank.
Comments rushed past in such a torrent there were too many to follow.
Well, strictly speaking, thanks to her skills that improved her dynamic vision and mental processing speed, she could read everything that appeared... She just had no idea how to respond to such a vast number of comments.
(W-wait!? More comments are coming in this ONE second than in my entire year of streaming so far, desu wa!?)
And that wasn't the only abnormality.
(Huh!? Ten thousand concurrents!?!?!?)
The number on the screen, displayed right after she'd started streaming, made Karin genuinely suspect a bug. But as she stared in alarm, it kept climbing, without stopping. Only Karin herself had stopped—frozen by the shock.
(No, I mustn't! If I stay like this, it'll be a streaming disaster! F-for now, I should introduce myself again to keep things going...!)
"A-a-once again, since I imagine most of you are here for the first time, allow me to introduce myself again. I-I-I am Karen Yamada, and I mainly stream Elegant dungeon exploration, desu wa."
【Her voice is shaking so much lmao】
【Where did the dignified ojou-sama from the opening go... lol】
【She died with that "HWOUGH!?"】
【She got her own name wrong lmao】
【Way too nervous lol】
【Calm down!】
【Wait, she's over ten thousand concurrents already!】
【Congrats】
【After a year of dead streams, suddenly getting ten thousand concurrents on a home stream would make anyone nervous】
"S-sorry, desu wa, I've never had so many people here before... U-um—"
Wh-what do I talk about next!? Wait, my dress caught the notes and now they're gone somewhere, desu no!?
For some reason, the chat grew more excited every time she said anything, and Karin became even more flustered.
Before she knew it, the concurrent viewers had risen to twelve thousand, then fourteen thousand, with the comments multiplying too.
【Saw the video! How the heck did you send Kagerou, strongest of the young generation, flying!?】
【She's really an indie?】
【How does a monster who can beat Kagerou without a scratch stay buried for a whole year!?】
【Seeing you knock Kagerou flying felt great!】
【Thank you, ojou-sama!】
【Yesterday's dinner tasted amazing!】
【Did you really murder Kagerou!?】
"I did NOT murder him, desu wa!?"
For the first time, Karin reacted strongly to a single comment.
She knew, of course, that "murder" was just the sort of exaggeration people used online... but she'd heard all kinds of true and false stories were going around about this incident. And Kagerou's clan hadn't made an official announcement about his condition yet, perhaps because of the confusion, leaving plenty of room for a bad rumor to start if net users joked around too much.
She hastily spoke up to make sure there was no chance of a story about her killing him taking hold.
"I only stopped him because he was about to light a blast stone, desu no! After I accidentally knocked him out, I carried him all the way outside, you know!? I thought at the time he was a lost explorer in a panic, so I even poured out my meager first-aid potion... and then he was taken to the hospital, very much alive! Along with me, for some reason!"
【Lmfao】
【The bit where they called an ambulance for her too still kills me】
【Well, can't blame 'em】
【I'd do the exact same thing if I were the guard...】
【She seriously thought Puke was a lost kid lmao】
【I mean he WAS doing something crazy enough to make her think that】
【Also, that confirms she beat Puke onesidedly... holy shit】
【Literally treating a top-ranked explorer, supposedly the strongest of the young generation, like a child...】
"U-um, ah, yes. As it happens, I'd meant to touch briefly on yesterday's events first today, desu no."
That was when Karin remembered the most important item on today's agenda.
Even if the other party was entirely in the wrong, carrying on streaming without addressing the person she'd knocked out would feel dishonest to her. It would leave her uneasy.
The extreme comment had reminded her what she needed to do, and at last Karin began to speak properly.
"I contacted the hospital again today. Kagerou-sama, whom I sent flying, is not in any danger of dying, desu wa. Apparently he won't be discharged for some time, but he has regained consciousness, at least, which is a relief, desu no."
【I see】
【Wait. A lower-layer solo explorer, and a day later he's still nowhere near discharge...?】
【"At least" he's conscious, huh...】
【There are some ominous bits in there...】
"But I fear I may indeed have gone a little too far... I wanted to apologize to Kagerou-sama again for knocking him out—indeed, for landing him in the hospital—but when I called, Kagerou-sama absolutely refused to speak to me. I was only able to talk to his manager, I believe? I'd like to make amends properly when the time is right... However flustered I was, I regret misjudging my strength, desu wa."
【Puke lmfao】
【Well, pride incarnate wasn't gonna talk to her】
【Pathetic lmao】
【A sixteen-year-old student is trying to do the right thing even when she doesn't owe him, and twenty-four-year-old Puke...】
【Casually saying "I misjudged my strength" about Puke. Can't hide that aura of power】
【Ojou-sama's more responsible than I expected】
【Fake ojou-sama or not, you could tell she was a good kid from that lecture】
【Don't worry about it, ojou-sama】
【Puke was 100% in the wrong】
【The staged-video theory was already shot down, but this really kills it off lol】
【She stopped his dangerous stunt AND carried him out of the dungeon and he won't even talk to her?】
【Puke, dude... This is why that video of you getting wrecked has four million views】
【Maybe Puke would've been better off dead?】
"H-huh?"
The mood in the comments had turned rather dubious. If anything, it felt a little tense.
Perhaps she'd underestimated just how hated Kagerou was and said a bit more than she should have. Karin hurried to intervene.
"E-everyone, let us be a little more ladylike, shall we~? P-Puke is such an unsightly word; it is not Elegant at all~"
【Understood, desu wa!】
【We should all watch our language! Karin ojou-sama is frightened!】
【It was tasteless to insult Kagerou-sama on Karin-sama's stream!】
【From now on I shall call Kagerou-sama Lord Vomit, desu wa!】
【Sudden ojou-sama infestation lmao】
【Lmao, desu wa】
(P-phew. I'm grateful all the viewers have such a good sense of humor, desu wa...)
But just as Karin relaxed at the unity in chat—
"Huh!? Th-thirty thousand concurrents, desu no!?"
【Congratulations, desu wa!】
【And it's only been ten minutes since the stream started... What momentum!】
【Why, you're still trending even now, so it's only natural】
【A high school girl who oneshot Lord Vomit? Of course her numbers are going up】
【A toast, desu wa!】
"H-how high will this climb, desu no...?"
With the ojou-samas' congratulations flooding chat, Karin stared in disbelief at the concurrent viewer count, which was still rising.