chapter04 · 091-ep91

Episode 88: What Happened and a Reflection Session

The evening after the unprecedented stream where Karin had blown straight past a solo deep-layer conquest and charged into the abyss alone—and after the release of the video where she utterly wrecked Black Tiger.

【Elegant】Karin Yamada's Refined Chatting Stream【Graceful】

I shall be speaking about the various things that happened yesterday on-stream...

→ URL　Starts at 8:00 p.m.

While every corner of society was in an uproar, that announcement was posted to Karin's stream-notification social media account, which had now passed twenty million followers.

The attention it attracted was anything but ordinary.

The announcement racked up millions of reposts in no time and effortlessly surpassed ten million impressions. Vast numbers of people flooded Karin's channel well before eight, and with five minutes left until the stream began, the waiting audience had already passed five million.

【Five million people waiting is straight-up impossible, what even is this lmaooo】

【So many people the LMAOs are withering】

【Considering she soloed abyssal floor 1 AND flattened Black Tiger, it makes entirely too much sense...】

【Karin ojou-sama's streams probably have as much influence as a prime ministerial press conference now...】

【I mean, Dungeon Alive and Lip○on tea, which ojou-sama endorses, are sold out nationwide】

【Dungeon Alive got all those massive reprints and it's sold out AGAIN? What is this, Demon Slayer...?】

【A manga that finished serialization ages ago selling like this is even crazier than Demon Slayer, desu no!?】

【Also there are WAY too many foreign languages!】

【For the foreign crowd, this concerns national defense... Look at this multilingual comment section...】

【A chatting stream the very next day after soloing the abyss and flattening Black Tiger? Isn't she a LITTLE too energetic????】

【What is Genocide Ojou-sama planning to say about "the various things that happened yesterday," desu no?】

【That horror video released yesterday already cleared up the suspicion that she massacred Black Tiger through excessive self-defense】

【At this point, even if she said, "Now I shall Elegantly conquer Japan~!" I wouldn't be surprised...】

【Karin ojou-sama would never do that! (Not saying she couldn't)】

【Just what is she going to come out with this time...?】

Perhaps the shock from the previous day's outrageous stream still hadn't worn off. Perhaps many were simply recoiling from how far outside all standards Karin's strength had proven to be. Whatever the case, a considerable number of apprehensive comments streamed past even before the broadcast began.

And amid all that—

"G-good evening, everyone, desu wa~"

Karin's stream started.

She wore her usual Elegant dress in her bedroom, surrounded by Elegant furniture: the familiar sight of one of her chatting streams. But... Karin herself looked a little different than usual on-screen.

"Erm, first, about yesterday, as I announced on social media... I, Karin Yamada, shook off my best friend's attempts to stop me and proceeded into a floor that was not part of the plan. Today's stream is to apologize for that, desu no..."

For once, Karin opened in a slightly dejected tone.

Moreover, a large placard hung from her neck. In handwriting far too neat to be hers, it listed her offense: "I, Karin Yamada, worried everyone by entering a floor with a questionable safety margin. I am a problem-child ojou-sama, desu no."

【!?】

【What is that placard lmaooo】

【The visual is 100% a dog with a placard listing its crimes around its neck after getting caught raiding the fridge lmao】

【I was wondering what insane stream she'd do next, but could you NOT ambush us with the funniest possible image right out of the gate!?】

【Karin ojou-sama having a perfectly serious expression makes it even funnier】

【Now that you mention it, yesterday did look like she went off on her own, so I guess she needs to apologize to the relevant parties... but putting that aside, what IS this visual lmaooo】

【This is absolutely an apology stream where you're not allowed to laugh lmao】

【Is this... really what an explorer with the power to affect international affairs looks like...?】

【Never seen ojou-sama look this sad before lol. What happened behind the scenes? lol】

【Best friend-chan gave her one hell of a scolding, didn't she lmaooo】

【Come to think of it, she got what looked like a call telling her to stop before she entered the abyss lmaooo. So much happened I completely forgot lmao】

The comment section grew livelier in direct contrast to dejected Karin.

As for what exactly had happened to her... the viewers had more or less guessed correctly.

"Seiza."

After sending every member of Black Tiger to a police hospital and releasing the lifesaving (?) footage to clear herself of the massacre allegations, Karin had returned to Tokyo. The moment the Anti-Dungeon Division finished questioning her about the ambush, Mafuyu ordered her to sit in seiza.

"N-no, listen, Mafuyu, like I said over the phone, that was necessary to resolve the whole situation perfectly... And it's true the stream cutting out made everyone worry, but that wasn't so much because I acted on my own as because of the magic item that sealed my magic equipment—"

"Seiza."

"Y-yes, desu wa..."

No debate.

Mafuyu began her lecture with such force that neither Honoka, who was present, nor Mitsuki, who had appeared at some point, could intercede. Detective Fukusa, who had been standing nearby, quietly erased his presence and slipped away.

I know you're strong, but don't disregard safety margins. Worrying your viewers too much with these absurd streams isn't Elegant, is it? There are no official records of abyssal streaming, so standing out that badly could attract who-knows-what—Black Tiger being one example. I think you'll be fine (because you're so overwhelmingly strong that even the world's monsters will fear getting counterattacked), but from now on, fortify your house and take all sorts of precautions—and on, and on.

Although everything had somehow worked out, this was one occasion where Karin needed to be scolded. Once Mafuyu had said most of what she wanted to, she heaved a long sigh.

"Haah. I do understand that you were being considerate in your own way, and it's good that we managed to legally wipe out Black Tiger—the people behind the allegations—along with the allegations themselves. But even if it wasn't your fault, you did worry people in all sorts of places. At least say something about it on-stream."

"I-I understand, desu no... It certainly was un-Elegant of me to give everyone so much cause for worry this time... The stream may not have prioritized Elegance because its purpose was clearing the allegations, but there are still limits."

And that was how today's apology (?) stream came about.

Incidentally.

As for Black Tiger, which sixteen-year-old Karin had crushed with ease, Karin had accepted matters by saying, "I see! So that was one of those organizations strongest in the country only on the surface...!" Her dreams about Dungeon Alive remained intact. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been strange for somebody on the government side to teach her reality by now, but—

"No, at this point, she might actually be easier to control if she keeps believing there are loads of people stronger than her inside the police and military... It's a miracle someone that strong is scared of getting arrested... Let's keep leaving the steering and observation of the ojou-sama to Poison Spider-kun for now... We'll notify you if any foreign powers make a move, so if it seems like she needs personal protection or anything, request it again... Though with strength like THAT, protection would probably only get in her way..."

Public Security and those above it appeared to have reached a consensus: "We don't want to provoke her carelessly," and, "We know she's a good girl, but if reality disappoints her, we have no idea which way she might go. Terrifying." Karin might learn the truth someday, but no one was volunteering to tell her right now.

And so, after all that—

"Erm, I apologize for causing such a commotion. From now on, if I do anything of the kind, I shall basically stop at safe and secure deep-layer conquests and strive for Elegant streams. I hope you will continue to support me, desu no."

【Calling the deep layers safe and secure is a bug】

【Could you please stop making a serious face with that placard around your neck lmaooo】

【Even with all that ridiculous power, Karin ojou-sama does properly own up to things like this】

【The placard is at least a little bit of a gag though! lol】

【I'm guessing the placard was Best friend-chan's idea, but who IS she when she apparently understands how strong this ojou-sama is and can still keep her under control (sometimes she can't)...?】

【Well, in all sorts of ways, this feels like the usual (?) ojou-sama, so I'm kind of relieved lmao】

【What sort of ojou-sama has "wearing an apology around her neck" as her usual look...?】

【Looking forward to Genocide Ojou-sama's future streams!】

【But you must be tired, so it's fine if you take a little break!】

Just as Mafuyu had been hoping, at least to an extent.

As the apology stream went on, reactions to Karin—which had contained a touch of fear from some viewers after the overwhelming display of her strength—returned to something closer to their old tone.

The chatting stream that began with a placard apology was short, since it came the day after her deep-layer broadcast, but it proceeded in the same friendly atmosphere as before, without hide or hair of any operatives.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

After a relentless series of developments and some very long uploads, this one was light and simple for the first time in a while. I'll address things like the total superchat amount, the government's movements, Mitsuki-sama's relationship with her family, and everything involving Kagerou-sama as they come up.

Karin ojou-sama's stunts are so enormous that there is far too much to address, desu no!

※Bonus

Mitsuki: "It's good that all of Black Tiger's principal members have been arrested... but every one of them is powerful. Ouko Onikubo's unique skill in particular is far too well-suited to breaking out of prison. I know prisons for explorers are sturdy, but I'm still worried. To make absolutely certain they can never retaliate against Karin ojou-sama, shouldn't we skip the trials and put all of their heads on display before their injuries fully heal...?"

Honoka: "Ah... I think it'll probably be okay... That's what one of my seniors in the Anti-Dungeon Division said..."

Mitsuki: "Is that so?"

Honoka: "Yes... Apparently they all suffered severe psychological trauma... If you show them a dress, they scream, curl up on the spot, and stop moving. And if they're questioned in ojou-sama speech, they immediately confess everything honestly... So if they hang dresses at key points around the prison like scarecrows, there's apparently zero chance they'll escape..."

Mitsuki: "Then we have nothing to worry about."