Chapter 15: The Price of a Virtual Idol’s Debut

Incidentally, Chahuayuan had thoughtfully found a fresh set of pajamas and underwear for Chajingyuan.

However, when Chajingyuan emerged from her bath, her mind was still muddled.

She instinctively assumed her sister had mistakenly brought the wrong clothes, paying them no heed whatsoever.

Chajingyuan carried the flimsy, adorable garments into her room and tossed them onto the curtain rod.

She then collapsed into bed, wearing nothing at all.

Upon waking, she discovered her usual men’s pajamas were nowhere to be found, consequently opting to simply drape an old overcoat over herself.

Evidently, she possessed no inkling of how provocative the sight of her pristine, smooth, slender body, starkly contrasted by the loose overcoat, truly was.

She was entirely oblivious to the effect this image created.

A highlighted message from her sister popped up on QQ, reminding Chajingyuan that Makino Shibahime was looking for her.

She quickly opened it, finding that Mai had indeed sent quite a few messages around noon.

The last message read: [Call me back directly once you’re awake; we’ll talk over voice chat~]

“Ugh.”

Chajingyuan felt a slight tremor of apprehension.

Her social anxiety, still very much present, made her resist the thought of being assigned yet another complex script or program schedule.

However, a thought quickly shifted her perspective: ‘Hmph, I, “Stepan Chizaki,” am now a hugely successful virtual idol. Who’s afraid of whom? Whoever chickens out is a nobody.’

Mustering her courage, Chajingyuan connected the internet call.

“Hello, hello… is this Mai…?”

“It’s me, it’s me! That’s shocking, Xiaosaki, you’re quite the sleeper. It’s already five in the afternoon!”

“Ah ha ha ha ha, I-I’m so sorry. Due to certain irresistible forces brought about by some first-generation collateral relatives, I was just too tired and overslept a bit…”

“Mmm, it’s fine, really. Everyone’s sleep schedule is pretty similar, ha ha ha. By the way, aren’t you going to turn on your video?”

“Oh, right, give me a moment—”

Chajingyuan moved to comply, but instantly realized her current attire: nothing but an overcoat.

“—N-Never mind. I just woke up, and my face is a little… a little messy.”

“Oh, I see, so Xiaosaki is the type who takes makeup seriously, then never mind!”

It wasn’t about makeup; the problem was far more fundamental.

“Let’s get straight to business, then~~ Mmm, did you see the draft plan I sent you at noon?”

“Eh? No… not yet, wait while I check.”

“If you haven’t seen it, no need to bother; I’ll just send you the official version I just finished writing.”

“Ah, alright.”

Chajingyuan quickly assented, and a file promptly arrived from the other end.

[‘XX Year XXXX Day – Xiaosaki Broadcast Plan.txt’]

The official version was still a .txt file?

And the date format and naming convention were far too casual!

“Did you receive it?”

“Mmm…”

“Alright, then you can look at it while I explain.”

Makino Shibahime took a deep, confident breath.

“First, let’s clarify the core idea. Our character persona is no longer what it was initially; it has undergone a ve-ve-very significant change.”

“Mmm, so…?”

“Therefore, following your established persona as an experienced gamer, our main streaming method from now on will simply be playing games.”

“Oh, oh!”

Chajingyuan immediately broke into a delighted, guileless grin.

“I understand, I understand! This is my forte, so tonight I’ll just jump straight into Apex!”

“No Apex!!”

“Gulp, why like this…”

As everyone knew, “Apex,” with its blend of sci-fi and anime aesthetics, was a battle royale game with lenient restrictions on player teams and skill levels, making it the preferred choice for many streamers looking to fill their broadcast hours with minimal effort.

Chajingyuan was well aware of this, but unfortunately, Makino Shibahime was even more cognizant.

Just as a glimmer of hope for an easy stream appeared, it was mercilessly snuffed out by the Director, causing Chajingyuan to immediately deflate.

“Then, what should I do…?”

“That’s why, the second core idea is the absolute key!”

Mai stated earnestly.

“Don’t forget, even though you said the broadcast effect was good yesterday, it ultimately ended in a ‘humiliating logout’. We need to provide an explanation afterwards; only then will our debut truly have a proper beginning and end!”

“Eh???!!!”

Chajingyuan was instantly taken aback.

As surprise washed over her, memories flooded her mind, and Chajingyuan’s tone immediately shifted to one of fear and reluctance.

“C-Can I not say it? I won’t say it!”

“No, you must say it. And as a maid, you must use the cutest, most adorable, most teary-eyed soft-girl voice to say ‘Goshujin-sama~’ in Japanese.”

“Uwah, why?!”

“I should be asking why you’re unwilling! It’s so cute, so, so cute! Say it once, feel good once; keep saying it, keep feeling good!!”

“But the ones feeling good are those trashy viewers in the chat!”

Chajingyuan explained with a wronged expression.

“They’re clearly just being manipulative… I-I-I-I refuse to say it, I won’t bow down to these sneaky little nobodies!”

Mai was momentarily stunned.

“Wow. You’re actually serious.”

“Y-You can just assume I’m serious, hmph.”

Chajingyuan huffily threw her a petulant glare.

“Mmm~~~~”

Mai pondered for a moment.

Her voice, already round and sweet, grew even more guileless as she pondered, and even through the internet connection, one could almost picture her shrewdly assessing the situation.

“Well then, how about we try a different approach? If those trashy chat viewers you look down on so much were to obey your every command, wouldn’t that be quite satisfying?”

“That’s true, but… but they’re the most chaotic and unruly bunch, after all.”

“Chaotic and unruly just means they’re brainless, you know.”

“Mmm?”

“Mhm-hm-hm, just think, if you craft the cutest persona and casually, disingenuously, utter ‘Goshujin-sama’ a couple of times, you can manipulate these chat viewers right in the palm of your hand. Doesn’t that suit your intentions perfectly? It’d be incredibly satisfying.”

“Mmm…………”

Chajingyuan also pondered for a moment.

She was envisioning the scenario Mai had painted, for previously she had merely resisted out of stubbornness, without truly thinking it through—and now, Mai’s logic naturally drew her in.

Chajingyuan nodded lightly.

“Mmm… although the logic is strange, it sounds surprisingly comforting…”

“Exactly, exactly, right~~ To think more extremely, simply by sweetly and adorably uttering ‘Master,’ you can control the audience into showering you with countless Super Chats and all sorts of chat spam…”

“Mhm, mhm!”

Chajingyuan was truly drawn in, nodding earnestly, her eyes sparkling.

“Pretending to cater to their preferences and thus manipulating these little nobodies actually sounds incredibly satisfying! Interesting, interesting!”

“So, mhm-hm-hm, as long as you can control the chat, saying ‘Master’ a few more times is acceptable, right?”

“Of course, it’s acceptable! …Uh, uh-uh?”

Chajingyuan froze.

She gasped, as if waking from a dream.

“Y-You… Mai, what do you… what do you want me to do…?”

“It’s quite simple, really.”

Mai’s tone was light and easy.

“To connect with yesterday’s persona and broadcast content, besides fulfilling yesterday’s promise by saying ‘Master’ when we start streaming today, I’ve prepared even more opportunities for you to say ‘Goshujin-sama’!”

“Uh-uh-uh-uh…”

“You can’t refuse, you already agreed a moment ago.”

“Gulp!”

“Here’s what I was thinking.”

Mai immediately continued her analysis, unprompted.

“Starting today, we’ll pick a high-difficulty game to play. Only high-difficulty games are fitting for a high-level player like you, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Th-That’s obvious! …But then what?”

“Then, if you make a mistake—for instance, if you die or fall—you have to say ‘Goshujin-sama~~’ to the esteemed audience. That’s the general idea!”

“Eek!”

Chajingyuan was instantly alarmed.

“…Doesn’t that condition sound too lenient, too frequent?”

“Don’t worry! As long as you’re confident in your gaming skills, you won’t have to say it many times at all. Didn’t you already prove your strength yesterday? Are you afraid you can’t win games?”

“Of course, I’m not! I had a perfect record yesterday!”

Chajingyuan immediately regained her spirited demeanor.

“Eh… but speaking of which, what games are you planning to prepare?”

“Currently, the plan is to choose one from four games, decided by audience vote. Check the end of the document; I’ve listed them out. What do you think?”

“I-I’ll check right away!”

Chajingyuan hastily scrolled through the document, seeing the four suggested options at the bottom:

[Option A]

‘Cuphead’ on Expert mode, say ‘Master’ every time you die.

[Option B]

‘Sekiro’ New Game+ with the Bell Demon, say ‘Master’ every time you fully die.

[Option C]

‘Celeste’ first playthrough, say ‘Master’ every time you die.

[Option D]

‘Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy,’ say ‘Master’ every time you fall.

“…Wah! Aren’t these all sadistic, brutal games designed specifically to torment people!”

“They are~~”

Mai replied with a guileless chuckle, as if it were the most natural thing.

“For this kind of segment, choosing anything but a brutal game would be pointless. Look at YouTube streams, where every death increases the vibration intensity… those are very popular!

Unfortunately, our streaming environment is a bit too wholesome, and since Xiaosaki, you’re also a beginner, we’ll settle for ‘saying Master’ as a secondary option.”

“Eek!”

Chajingyuan was flustered and began to haggle.

“I… I really find these kinds of punishment games… hard to accept! C-C-C-Can we negotiate and switch to some lower-difficulty options??”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Because half an hour ago, which was probably when you were still asleep… I already asked Chahuayuan to log in and post the voting poll and stream announcement.”

“Uwaahhhhhh!!!!”