chapter03 · 080-ep80
Episode 77: Just a Little More
The entire internet was in an uproar over a sixteen-year-old conquering the deep layers solo. In Japan especially, every social platform and message board talked of little else. She monopolized trending topics; everywhere else, the crowds had visibly thinned.
At the center of it all, the channel 'Natural-Born Ojou-sama Karin Yamada's Elegant Dungeon Conquest' erupted in cheers at a rate bordering on a DDoS attack.
【AAAAAAAAH! SHE DID ITTTTT!】
【KARIN OJOU-SAMAAAA!】
【The strongest, strongest ojou-sama! The invincible thug ojou-sama! The unprecedented ojou-sama!】
【AN UNDISPUTED WORLD RECORDDDDDD!!】
【She even killed a monster that seemed beyond deep-layer class!】
【And she keeps pulling out insane equipment! What IS this fake ojou-sama!?】
【(It's just Karin ojou-sama's achievement, but) nobody can call Japan a dungeon developing nation again!】
【Whoa... I'm tearing up. When was the last time Japan set a dungeon-related world record...?】
【A WORLD RECORD AND IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE!】
【No amount of red superchats could be enough!】
¥50,000 @motimotimotimoti
Congratulations, Karin ojou-sama!
¥50,000 @Mitsuki
KARIN OJOU-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAA!
¥50,000 @Mitsuki
Congratulashuns congratulations congratulations congratula
¥50,000 @Mitsuki
As I knew Karin ojou-sama is the supreme and greatest ojou-sama and explorer and Black Tiger who framed her and everybody who believed them and my family who tried to make me abandon her can all ******** (automatically censored)
¥50,000 @Mitsuki
I can't stay conscious anymore sending fifty thousand at a time is too much trouble Karin ojou-sama please tell me your bank account number la
¥50,000 @Mitsuki
ah
【Mitsuki-sama donated everything she could and died!】
【Mitsuki-sama dies and revives endlessly... Is she a phoenix?】
【That flood of Mitsuki-sama red superchats lmao】
【She's not Mitsuki-sama, she's Mitsugi-sama!】
【Holy shit, the concurrency!】
【Ten million! I've gone past laughing, past deadpan, all the way back to laughing my head off, desu wa!】
【People rushed here because 'Karin ojou-sama dead' started trending prematurely lol】
【Breaking news everywhere too!】
【Beyond breaking news lol. My TV suddenly switched to a special report on Karin ojou-sama's world record!】
【It really did lmao!】
【Has a streamer's feat ever gotten coverage like that? lol】
【Even the Black Tiger-friendly station that refused to run breaking news finally did!】
【They know they can't push the allegations anymore, so they're trying to cover their asses lol. TOO LATE, IDIOTS!】
【THIRTEEN MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!】
【What the heck lol】
【Thirteen million subscribers, not concurrents!?】
【Five million new subscribers in ONE stream is another crazy record!】
【Bestie's 'Ten or twenty million subscribers will be easy' actually came true lmao】
【I thought she was exaggerating. I was such an idiot, sorry!】
【The allegations are dead and buried! Suck it, Black Tiger!】
【This celebration tastes amazing lol. I opened my best wine on impulse】
【HELL YEAH, ORAAAA! TAKE THAT, KUROI!】
【Hey, Kagerou, we identified your alt account ages ago lol】
【I've got a ¥50,000 superchat ready to tease you on your 'explaining my alt account' stream, Puke!】
A vast crowd had seen Karin set the record, drawn in by the enormous monster's defeat and the alarming phrase 'Karin ojou-sama dead' trending minutes earlier. Mafuyu and her Public Security contacts had arranged excessive server expansions in advance, which just barely kept the stream running—though the picture still seemed a little unstable. The number of comments was even more extraordinary than the audience, and subscriptions kept soaring. Praise for Karin's feat and joy that the allegations had almost entirely been dispelled filled her stream.
"S-such huge numbers and so many congratulations...! Th-thank you, everyone, desu no!"
Her heart pounding at the overwhelming response, Karin smiled despite how badly it frightened her. A happy-ending atmosphere swept the internet: she had beaten Black Tiger's intense malice by an entirely legal, straightforward route.
But—
"...Hmm. Hmmmm?"
At the heart of the celebrations, receiving Japan's cheers as the world-record holder and person of the moment, Karin stopped smiling. For some reason, she crossed her arms, looking slightly dissatisfied. She was gazing at the thirteen million subscribers displayed on her stream. Her achievement had 'almost' cleared her name.
(These numbers are so incomprehensible they make me want to throw up with nerves. There's no doubt this is more than enough of a victory, but...)
She was actually quite concerned about her viewers' arguments with the operatives, the trouble caused to Mochimochi Tamago-sensei and others involved with her, and the work Mafuyu was probably still doing where Karin couldn't see it—as she instinctively knew. More concerned than even Mafuyu realized. She didn't want the controversy or allegations to leave the slightest trace.
That was why, even after these unprecedented numbers, she couldn't feel completely at ease.
(Thirteen million subscribers... There will be more with time, but... Isn't that still a little uncertain if I want to clear the allegations one hundred percent?)
Seeking a complete solution, Karin began to see an idea she'd had for days as a real option.
〇
"NOT YEEEEEEEEEEEEET!"
The suspicions about Karin Yamada had almost entirely vanished. Voices everywhere insisted she had no need to stage anything and never would. Even Black Tiger's operatives had fallen silent, their position hopeless. But the man who had invented the allegations still refused to give up. Kuroi raised his voice before any of Black Tiger's principal members could admit defeat.
"Yes, Karin Yamada has accomplished a great feat! An unprecedented achievement that attracts people, wins their devotion, and lies beyond even our reach! But it falls ONE step short of clearing her name one hundred percent! A hero who saved a crowd from disaster inspires a completely different kind of devotion from someone who merely set a world record!"
Kuroi shouted without caring how desperate he sounded. Yes, Karin's strength was overwhelming. Clearing the deep layers was a genuine feat; without staging anything, she could probably gain ten or twenty million subscribers easily. But that alone couldn't explain the devotion of her viewers, her influence on society or her massive donations.
"There's still an opening we can exploit...! Her solo conquest was a clever move that nearly overturned my plan, but it hasn't overturned it absolutely. It's a great feat, but nothing more. Some fame can only be gained by playing the hero! In that sense, we can't rule out a motive for Karin Yamada to stage those incidents! Yes, I know that's an outrageous argument that won't convince ninety-nine percent of people. But even with ninety-nine percent against us, that remaining one percent gives us room to manipulate opinion and weaken her influence!"
It was too early to give up. <Advance Danger Sense>'s continued silence proved it. Even if a hundred people out of a hundred would surrender, he still had moves to play.
"Dodomeki! Tell our operatives who've lost their nerve that money is no object. If they want to keep sharing our profits—and don't want to go down with us—they'll obey!"
His eyes were bloodshot as he shouted.
"I'll spend every asset I've saved up! So what if Okutama Dungeon brings in less money? We're a top clan! We've more than enough cash to keep manipulating the fools! And influential people who fear Karin Yamada's growing power will fund us too! The ugly battle to diminish that monster's popularity and influence is far from over!"
At this point his information campaign might have little immediate effect. But what if he kept it up for months, even after the world record's impact faded? He couldn't hope to achieve as much as originally planned, but he could certainly erode her power.
"It's fine! <Advance Danger Sense> hasn't changed! If we push on, Black Tiger won't fall apart, and we can make up for these losses! No matter how reckless it looks, as long as my intuition doesn't warn me, this strategy can't be wro—"
A stabbing pain!
"Eh...?"
In the midst of his rousing speech, pain shot through his head, warning him of danger. It was as if a broken appliance had happened to work properly for a moment by chance. Dazed, he followed the unique skill's urgent alarm and looked at the stream.
"Hmm. My subscribers have grown enough to make my heart jump out of my chest, but I still think we need just a little more to dispel those allegations completely, desu wa. So many people, including all of you watching, have helped prepare and supported me this far. Now that all eyes are on us, I want to answer your devotion and trust by proving my innocence one hundred percent, beyond the shadow of a doubt!"
An atmosphere of 'Wait, what is she talking about?' settled over the channel's ten million viewers.
"Yes, I thought from the start that simply clearing the deep layers might not quite be enough. So here's a special bonus, separate from my world-record attempt! We finished earlier than I expected, so today I'll go just a little farther!"
"..................................................................What?"
Beyond the deep layers lay the abyssal layers: a truly inhuman realm. Kuroi's dry mouth released a faint, hoarse sound as the insane streamer walked toward them, still in her dress.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
The bonus is the main event. In other words, this stream really starts here, desu wa (though it shouldn't take too many episodes).
Thanks to all of you, we've passed 20,000 stars! Stars and follows push us up the rankings, bringing Karin ojou-sama's abnormal behavior to even more people. I'm truly grateful!
Next time is from Mafuyu-sama's viewpoint. I'd be happy to have your continued support, desu wa!