Chapter 73 : Next staff and new face (2)

Yo.

In Japanese, it’s ‘yo’.

In Korea, it’s a first-person pronoun that became archaic a long, long time ago. You’d have to go back to the Joseon Dynasty to see it used.

Even in Japan, it’s not really used in spoken language. Maybe in historical dramas by high-ranking characters. Anyway, it’s an unfamiliar archaic word.

Of course, Shigure didn’t know that. ‘Mary’ probably didn’t know either.

[Yo? What’s that? LOL]
[No, but the concept LOL]
[Seriously LOL]
[Where’s the maid idol? It’s just a weird maid VTuber]
[Vtubers died out a while ago, and they’re still coming out?]
[Seongwon/Controversy/Fraud]

Shigure checked the chat. The reaction was ambiguous.

To be fair, Seongwon had been vague, but viewers who came over naturally assumed Seongwon’s crew member was an idol doing a maid cosplay.

They thought the VTuber comments were nonsense.

So, no one expected a VTuber. Naturally, there was a backlash.

‘It’s okay. I expected this.’

Shigure wasn’t fazed.

As she knew, Vtubing was a dying industry. Virtual reality killed her precious Vtubers. Now, Vtubers were just a niche concept that sold a little in Japan.

In other words, the demand was limited.

‘But…!’

Shigure had a secret weapon.

Even Shigure knew, inwardly, that she was pretty. Idol-level? Of course not (Shigure had a conscience). But by average standards, she was decent.

CEO Cha vouched for it, so it must be true.

‘The ‘pretty girl behind the VTuber’ concept always worked.’

Wasn’t it a common concept in Japanese light novels? If she revealed her real-world looks, Shigure, who only streamed in VTuber mode, would also gain popularity.

This was historically a ‘selling’ concept.

Of course, these days, anyone with those looks would become a gravure idol or something, so no one wanted to be a VTuber.

‘So what matters now is…!’

Showing the concept!

Once again possessed by ‘Order-Made Mary,’ Shigure lifted her chin and smiled.

The realization was incomparable to past face and body tracking. The technology developed during the virtual reality era didn’t have errors like blinking eyes or shaking pupils. It was different from the past!

“Oh my, I apologize. Were you new? It seems this one got a little excited about having new subordinates.”

It was a rather arrogant tone. It didn’t suit Shigure’s usual personality at all, but in a way, it was the concept she could do best.

‘Because I wanted to!’

She wanted to be someone arrogant!

As a Japanese person who had spent her life carefully choosing her words so as not to offend superiors or peers, distinguishing between *tatemae* and *honne*, the VTuber concept, where she could freely express herself under the guise of a concept, gave Shigure a subtle, perverse sense of liberation.

[Please tell us what this concept is first, sensei.]
[LOL]
[If she’s a maid, aren’t we the masters?]
[I guess the viewers are the subordinates]
[Hey]
[Hey, newbie. Introduce yourself]

“Introduce myself? How impudent of a subordinate.”

[Is she confused about her concept? LOL]
[She’s like a king, not a maid LOL]
[Seongwon released another weird one]

“However, as your superior, I must introduce myself.”

Shigure rang a small bell next to the sofa.

Then, the ‘maid outfit bot,’ which CEO Cha complained was unnecessarily expensive to make, brought a large easel and sketchbook as programmed.

[LOL]
[Seriously LOL]
[It’s a real bot, not just a video?]
[I’m dizzy]

Shigure flipped through the sketchbook with a small stick.

“My name is Order-Made Mary. I am a housekeeper belonging to the ‘Hero’s Party’ of my master, Seongwon. I’m from England. My height and weight are as follows.”

However, the sketchbook read ‘Nationality: Japan.’ The height and weight were also quite different from the model’s slender figure since it was ‘the person inside’s’ height and weight. Shigure was short.

[So Seongwon’s crew is the Hero’s Party]
[But it says Japan?]
[Is it a typo?]
[I think the height and weight don’t match the model]

Shigure glanced at the sketchbook.

And then she declared confidently,

“There’s been a slight misunderstanding. This one is indeed Japanese. You can calculate the height and weight in yards and pounds. I think there was a typo in the units.”

[LOL]
[Yards and pounds LOL]
[If it’s yards and pounds, she’s 4 meters tall? LOL]
[Is that something you can call a misunderstanding? LOL]
[Ah, it’s a misunderstanding if you call it a misunderstanding LOL]

Order-Made Mary’s concept was shamelessness.

* * *

▣ Are you serious?

[Order-Made Mary stream clip]

Finally, the Korean VTuber industry is being revived… Now new VTubers will come again……

─No, it won’t. It’s already dead.
└It’s already a corpse, there’s nothing left, so why keep touching it?
─Isn’t this just one promising rookie, not a revival?
└A VTuber blooming in a graveyard;;
└But that rookie is in the current No. 1 crew.
└Even so, everyone in Japan is quitting, what revival?

▣ Still

[Order-Made Mary stream clip, Mary is shamelessly arguing for the merits of yards and pounds.]

The concept is kind of funny LOL. It’s a pass.

─An ignorant but shameless maid LOL
└Pushing yards and pounds is a bit much;;
└I wish they’d stop with the horrible unit system.
─So is she Japanese, Korean, or British?
└She claims to be Japanese.
└Claims? LOL
└I think she’s Japanese.

▣ What is ‘yo’?

[Order-Made Mary stream clip, Mary refers to herself as ‘yo’]

She keeps saying ‘yo’. What is yo? Does it mean woman?

─I think she means 余.
└It’s that ‘yo da yo’ thing.
└Really?
─It’s an old person concept. She’s trying to act old-fashioned.
└LOL
└Where do they find these talents……

▣ She’s the one who drew that yuri webtoon?

[Order-Made Mary stream clip, explaining the webtoon she drew and drawing on the spot.]

What is Seongwon doing? LOL

─I don’t know whether to criticize Seongwon, who made her crew member draw a yuri manga starring herself, or Mary, who drew such a thing.
└It’s hot, let’s drink.
└?
─She draws pretty well.
└She’s a webtoon artist, of course she draws well.

▣ So are they doing a collab?

Of course, Seongwon created her own crew member, so it’s obvious that a collab between the maid VTuber and Seongwon will happen, right?

─Get the hell out of our small and precious VTuber Gallery.
└Your gallery has been dead for a long time, now this is the Seongwon No.1 Gallery.
└Oh, please.
└Dead gallery confirmed.
─The gallery is ruined LOL
└It’s because of the small size……
└Think positive, it’s lively.
─Order-Made Mary~ Pachichik Live Streaming~ Subscribe~ Like~ Subscribe and like and turn on notifications for Sno.1~
└Don’t copy their viral marketing just because you’re in the same crew.

* * *

As soon as Shigure’s stream ended, Seongwon headed to the studio. VTuber debuts were traditionally short, mainly self-introductions.

Opening the studio door, she saw Shigure standing there, slightly flushed, looking dazed. Sensing my presence, Shigure quickly turned her head.

“P-President! D-Did I, did I do well?”

“You did well. You didn’t get nervous.”

Actually, she didn’t know if it went well. She didn’t know much about Vtubers.

However, judging by the positive indicators, it could be considered a successful debut. Since the results came from the internal data of Pachichik, which they finally acquired, their analysis couldn’t be wrong.

“That’s a relief…….”

“Keep up the good work. CEO Cha will probably keep asking you to do things because he needs to make money, but don’t mind him and just go at your own pace, Kawasaki-ssi.”

“I-Is that okay?”

“Aren’t you the one who knows the most about Vtubers in our company, Kawasaki-ssi? The expert should do it. What good will it do if someone who doesn’t know does it? Maid it well, Kawasaki-ssi. Come to think of it, your concept is a maid, so you’ll maid it well.”

As I winked, Shigure, unsure how to react, fumbled before forcing a smile. Her trembling lips were clearly a forced smile.

Were my jokes not funny?

‘CEO Cha and Miley laughed.’

Perhaps she needed to create a laugh-inducing device using the ‘power’ and ‘wisdom’ of the president. A bell that makes all employees instantly burst into laughter when rung three times…….

“Um, President…….”

It was Shigure’s voice that woke me from my terrifying plan. Shigure hesitated, gauging my reaction, before cautiously speaking.

“J-Just in case, I’m asking, but my concept is a maid, right? So, could I also call you Master……!”

“How dare…….”

As Miley growled, Shigure shrunk like a mouse before a cat. Her small frame now seemed as tiny as a bean.

“Miley says no.”

“Huh…….”

Looking at the dejected Shigure, I stroked my chin.

‘But the concept is important…….’

For future collaborations, she needed to give her a concept title. But ‘Master’ was Miley’s exclusive title, so she could give her a different one.

“Calling me ‘Mistress’ should be fine. What do you think, Miley? Is that okay?”

Miley made a strange expression at my question but soon nodded. Yes, yes. Good girl, Miley.

“Then let’s go with Mistress.”

“Y-Yes!”

Good, title settled.

The matter was neatly resolved. Everyone was satisfied, as CEO Cha chuckled behind me.

“This is, come to think of it, quite confusing.”

Suddenly confused? It seemed CEO Cha was sick. Should I send him for a checkup?