chapter01 · 023-ep23

Episode 23: The Secret of the Dress

"Good day, everyone~ It's time for Karin Yamada's Elegant home stream, desu wa~"

【We've been waitinggggg!】

【Good day!】

【Good day~】

【Karin ojou-sama is so Elegant today too~ (fully trained)】

The moment Karin started streaming from her room, comments flooded the screen.

There were even more than on her first home stream after beating up Kagerou.

Her concurrent viewers climbed before her eyes, quickly passing twenty thousand. That was an extraordinary rate of growth for a home stream on a channel primarily devoted to dungeon exploration.

It had been about a week since the stream where she'd defeated the deep-layer monster. Karin had streamed almost every day since, and was still maintaining an average of around eighty thousand concurrents—top-tier numbers in the industry. Even her chatting streams from home reliably exceeded sixty thousand viewers, and their archives drew plenty of views too.

Karin had thought things would calm down somewhat after a week... But with a start like this, she'd probably clear sixty thousand again today.

That morning she'd even overheard those girls discussing her. The viral wave from last week's dungeon stream clearly hadn't subsided yet.

(Th-they're all here again today...!?)

She thought she'd grown used to streaming before crowds this size, but the unreal numbers threatened to make her panic if she let her guard down. Karin did her best to contain herself and continued her greeting.

"I'm thrilled so many of you have joined me today, desu wa! As announced, I'll chat and answer questions from Twiitter and the comments."

Once enough people had gathered, she began the stream in earnest.

"—And so, following Setsuna-sama's example, I have no plans to join a clan. Setsuna-sama did spend more time with others near the end, but I am still inexperienced. If I cannot even keep from running out of tea, I am nowhere near Setsuna-sama's level. If I ever do join one, it will be after I've honed my abilities further, desu wa!"

【She's going to get EVEN stronger...?】

【Her drive to improve is unbelievable!】

【Setsuna-sama's level in the final episode means going past the deep layers AND the abyssal layers into the pit of hell or something...】

【Are you planning to destroy the world...?】

Comments flowed steadily in response to Karin's answer.

A while later, once her viewer count had reached its usual sixty thousand, a question caught her eye.

【May I cosplay as Karin-sama? Your dungeon conquests are so Elegant, I want to imitate you!】

"My, truly!? Of course you may, desu wa!"

Apparently one of her viewers admired her dungeon exploits. Karin gave permission with a beaming smile.

"If anyone else wishes to cosplay me, please don't hesitate. As long as you enjoy yourselves within reasonable bounds, it is perfectly fine. I used to make Setsuna-sama's dress gear by hand and have a wonderful time myself. Look, here."

Delighted by the unexpected question, Karin pinned the cosplayer @iesuokisoyjatietiura's comment and took out her phone.

On it was a selfie from years ago, when she'd been enjoying some Setsuna cosplay.

【Fwah!?】

【Karin-sama made THAT herself!?】

【Even in a photo you can tell the materials are plain, but the craftsmanship is genuinely impressive!?】

【Seeing a younger, more innocent Karin ojou-sama is refreshing!】

【That's a lovely picture. You can tell how much fun she was having!】

【It's hitting me again that you really, REALLY love Setsuna-sama...!】

【Good News: Karin ojou-sama's actually good at girly stuff】

Chat got excited about Karin's cosplay picture for all sorts of reasons.

【@iesuokisoyjatietiura: Thank you! Your cosplay outfit is so carefully made—I admire it! Oh, but I had one more question—】

The pinned cosplayer posted again.

【@iesuokisoyjatietiura: Is that dress you're wearing some special product? I can't seem to reproduce its texture... Do you know what it's made of?】

"Ah..." Karin sounded a little uncertain.

"This dress is actually made from the skin, I think, of an enormous jellyfish in the lower layers. I've forgotten its name, though. To reproduce the texture, you may have to use the skin of its inferior counterpart from the upper layers."

【@iesuokisoyjatietiura: What...?】

【Huh?】

【What?】

【(Thanks to hardcore cosplayer viewer) that took a turn...】

【You stunned the cosplayer speechless!】

The mood in chat transformed instantly.

【Wait, a huge jellyfish in the lower layers?】

【H-hold on, Karin ojou-sama! Do you mean <Venom Jelly>, the lower-layer boss with terrifying regeneration, lethal poison AND camouflage!?】

"Oh, yes, that's the one! This dress is made from that one's materials."

【You're kidding!?】

【Venom Jelly is one of the strongest lower-layer bosses, and only appears in high-level dungeons with abyssal layers!】

【A dress made from that thing must be insanely expensive!?】

【Bad News: Karin ojou-sama was a monster wearing a monster's skin all along】

As chat descended into uproar, a long comment appeared.

【Wait a second...? I always wondered why no one spotted Karin-sama in that eye-catching dress at the busy dungeon entrance or in the upper and middle layers... You're not going to tell me that dress retained <Venom Jelly>'s camouflage ability, are you?】

"My, what a perceptive viewer. Exactly what I'd expect from one of my listeners!"

Karin cheerfully confirmed it. She sent a little mana into the dress she was wearing.

"It can only take a few preset forms, but... as you can see, it has a modest transformation function."

Her dress changed into utterly ordinary combat clothes. The color and even the design were completely different. Her hair had turned bright red to match her outfit too. Though her face was the same, she looked nothing like she had seconds before.

In fact, Karin had used this ability to pass as an ordinary explorer in the upper and middle layers. Mafuyu had lectured her about getting doxxed.

Well, the main reason was that she was more likely to encounter fellow explorers in the crowded upper and middle layers, and dressing like an ojou-sama got her stopped and scolded all the time, which was a nuisance... Either way, she made full use of the camouflage to keep her dress from drawing attention.

Karin revealed the ability without a second thought; she'd always used it as a matter of course. Her viewers, however, were stunned.

【!?!?!?!?】

【Hey, this isn't an app editing the video in real time or anything, right...!?】

【Theories that she changes inside the dungeon or wears a wig just collapsed...!?】

【Wow! That's magical gear!】

【W-wait, does this mean I might've passed a disguised Karin ojou-sama at the entrance or in the upper layers of the Tokyo dungeon where I explore...!?】

【Terrifying...】

【Could you not suddenly tell scary stories?】

【My lower half is a flower garden with fear, desu wa...】

【Is this today's ghost-story stream?】

【Mind your dungeon manners, everyone... Even without the dress, even with different hair, that person could still be Karin-sama...】

【Explorer crowd's trembling lmao】

"Why are you all frightened, desu no!?"

【Well, you know...】

【Because...】

【I like safari parks, but I don't wanna get out of the car...】

As Karin protested chat's antics (?), another wave of questions changed the subject.

【More importantly, how much does that dress cost!?!?!?】

【Craftsman explorers with production skills high enough to process a lower-layer boss's materials are rare to begin with...】

【Magical gear made from lower-layer monster materials must cost a fortune, no??】

【How could Karin ojou-sama, who couldn't even afford proper recording equipment, pay for it????】

【The materials alone are crazy expensive! Add a master craftsman's fee and it's gotta be tens of millions of yen!?】

【How many yen-millions IS that dress!?】

"Hm? It was free, desu wa. I made it myself."

Karin answered the stream of questions as if that were the most natural thing in the world.