A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 87

[Big Sis, is it fine if I ask for your help again next time?]

“…Huh?”

[Rene is younger than you and me, you know.]

[If she does better than me, then she’s Big Sis, what are you talking about?]

[…That’s true. Then I guess I should call you Big Sis too.]

[Um… Rene. Is it okay if I call you Sensei from now on? I hope there will be more chances like today… Ah, I’ll make sure to follow your broadcasts too.]

“…Huh?”

[Sensei! No, Shishou!!! I’ll be in your care from now on! I’ll make sure to follow and subscribe to your broadcasts!]

What is this?

Why are they acting like this towards me?

“…Huh? Uh, uh, Owen, are you Japanese…?”

[Nope. They’re just a huge otaku…]

Ah-ha.

[Rene, I really learned a lot today. I know this is a shameless request, but could I get your help now and then, like today? I’ll definitely compensate you well.]

…Why is everyone saying such nice things about me when all I did was play three games together and one-on-one?

I didn’t even teach anything special.

Yet here they are being this friendly towards me.

It felt… odd.

But that didn’t mean it felt bad.

“Well, I can’t do it regularly… but maybe once every couple of months…?”

I accepted the request.

[Yes, thank you.]

[I look forward to working with you, Shishou!!!]

“Oh, um….”

Maybe I should cancel now since it feels so burdensome…

★

“Phew….”

Recently, Tuni has been busy.

Thanks to starting to find success as a streamer.

I can’t pinpoint the exact reason, but the average viewer count has more than quintupled.

When the tide rises, you must paddle.

Tuni, who understands this better than anyone, has been working on various tasks, even cutting back on sleep.

“I hope this continues….”

Swallowing that hope, Tuni logged into her fan café.

─────────────────

【Tuni Fan Café~!】

【View All Posts】

【Title: Fan Art of Tuni Playing Hunter Series!】 (5)

【Title: Today’s broadcast was so enriching…】 (3)

【Title: But why doesn’t Tuni do collabs?】 (9)

【Title: I joined!】 (4)

【Title: I want to see a late-night stream, Tuni…】 (8)

【Title: Does anyone know the songs used in the broadcast?】 (3)

─────────────────

Unlike before, the fan café is definitely lively.

Although it feels odd compared to the chat in actual broadcasts, just seeing the titles of the new posts fills Tuni with energy.

─────────────────

【Title: But why doesn’t Tuni do collabs?】

【Frontosi】

I’m relatively new, so I don’t know much, but I heard they’ve been streaming for quite a while yet there aren’t any collabs in the replays…

Are you not doing them on purpose?

【Likes: 8 | Comments: 9】

Tsununin: I recall them saying they don’t have any close streamers to do collabs with in the past.

└ Frontosi: Ah… sorry.

└ Marshmallow: I’ve learned an unwanted truth…

└ Frontosi: But now that your channel has grown quite a bit, can’t we expect something?

└ Tsununin: I’d love to see one collaboration at least, so I hope it happens.

─────────────────

As Tuni scrolled through the latest posts, she stumbled upon one that hit her hard.

Tuni had never done a collab.

She had been a noname for over three years, with no streamer acquaintances, and no one had ever suggested a collab to her.

…However, as the comments mentioned, her channel had grown quite a bit recently, making it not impossible to do a collab with someone now.

“Collab…”

In Tuni’s situation, where every bit of preparation counts, a collaboration would be one of the best types of content.

But the problem is that there still isn’t a close enough streamer to do a collab with…

“Ah.”

Remembering something, Tuni quickly logged into Miscode and sent a DM.

[Tuni: Rene! Shall we do a collab?]

Tuni knew too well.

That collabing with Rene was a sort of gamble.

No matter how much Tuni has recently grown, she was still far behind compared to Rene, who had begun to climb in the ranks of big corporations.

Someone could think “Tuni is leeching off Rene.”

But still, Tuni wanted to collab with Rene.

Her streaming growth had begun after shaking off the inferiority complex she felt towards Rene.

Of course, that had nothing to do with the growth of Tuni’s streams.

It was far more likely that Tuni’s efforts had finally been rewarded.

Yet, the change in Tuni’s mindset was real, and Rene was the trigger for that.

Tuni wanted to express her gratitude towards Rene and become closer to her.

“Visiting together would be nice, but….”

Considering Rene’s personality from what she had seen in reality, that seemed practically impossible, right?

So, starting with the realm of work felt like the right step.

After much thought, that conclusion pointed to a collab.

Fans wanting to see a collab.

Tuni wanting to get closer to Rene.

It would satisfy everyone.

And Rene’s answer was.

[Inquisition Officer: Yes.]

An acceptance without objections.

Probably.

★

Out of nowhere, Tuni sent a collab proposal.

Honestly, I wanted to reject it because of the pressure, but it’s tough to say no to someone who has helped me so much.

Wondering what she wanted to do… as I pondered this, Tuni sent another message.

[Tuni: What about the game We Chained?]

[Tuni: https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX]

[Tuni: If you’re curious about what kind of game it is, you can check it out here!]

We Chained…?

The game Tuni mentioned had a name I had never heard before.

What kind of game could this possibly be?

Growing curious, I immediately clicked on the OnTube link that Tuni sent.

[No, jump! Jump already!!!]

[Ah, ah!!! Wow, is it normal to have a headache like this, guys?]

[You guys are having so much fun, huh.]

[No, bro. You won’t understand until you try it yourself, you know?]

I heard familiar voices coming from OnTube.

As I checked the video, it was titled “Sirius Team’s We Chained! One of them is the culprit.”

Ga-eun. Owen. Rex. Aris. Atal.

Except for one, all the names were familiar.

Come to think of it, I think they mentioned that Prophy was recently called up to the first team.

I remember that the player who had been the starting top got demoted due to personal issues.

That Atal person must be that original first team top.

[Wow, thank goodness Doyun is at least good at New Dimension.]

[Isn’t that a bit much?]

[Sorry, but I couldn’t help myself.]

[That’s harsh.]

Aris said that, but seeing the corners of her mouth turn up, she didn’t seem truly angry.

…This looks fun.

It seemed like a game where you work together to escape the maze.

One unique aspect is that multiple players are physically chained together…

Hmm. Either way, it looked entertaining.

If I play this with Tuni, wouldn’t everyone enjoy watching?

[No, really, everyone. You definitely shouldn’t play with someone like them! You might just die of frustration!]

…Hmm.

There shouldn’t be anything frustrating about playing with Tuni.

[Inquisition Officer: I think it would be fun.]

[Tuni: I’m glad to hear that! Then let’s do the collab with that game!]

[Inquisition Officer: Sure.]

★

【Rene Galleryⓜ】

【Title: Broadcast Announcement Released】

【Author: This place is nice because there’s no one here】

[Rene @LeneVtuber · 2 minutes ago]

I’ll be streaming with Tuni over the game We Chained.

Please take care of us.

Today’s all virtual.

But isn’t Tuni the streamer who’s friends with the gallery master?

So what is this We Chained game about? Does anyone know?

【Likes: 36 / Dislikes: 1】

ㅇㅇ🔹: Damn

└ ㅇㅇ🔹: “That game” season 2 is coming!

└ This place is nice because there’s no one here: ?

└ This place is nice because there’s no one here: Is that a lie…?

└ ㅇㅇ: Please stop acting ridiculous.

Kankobo: Tuni is going to have her teeth smashed, lol.

ㅇㅇ: Why is the announcement for VTuber Rene showing up in the gallery of streamer Rene? (Seriously clueless)

★

[Rene]

[I’m streaming with Tuni]

[We Chained | 2101 viewers currently | 00:00:12]

─Open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door, open the door!

─Please, can you play a different game, Rene?

─If the viewers on OnTube are going through PTSD after watching the playthrough, this should be hilarious, lol.

─Rebongi?

─Ah, lol.

─So who is Tuni anyway?

─There’s actually someone like that?

[Tuni: Have you set everything up in advance?]

[Inquisition Officer: Yes.]

[Tuni: Honestly, this is my first collab, so I’m a bit nervous.]

If it’s your first time, it’s natural to be nervous.

But you don’t need to worry. I’m the one who’s more nervous.

…Ugh, I feel like throwing up.

“Haah…”

[Tuni: Let’s have fun! Let’s go with a vibe of enjoying ourselves!]

[Inquisition Officer: Yes.]

[Tuni: Then I’ll start getting things ready!]

[Inquisition Officer: Sure.]

This person doesn’t seem nervous at all, even though they say they are.

With that thought, I unmuted the broadcast mic.

“Uh, um… Hello, everyone… Today, we’re doing a collab with Tuni as announced….”

─Why did you just arrive… why did you just arrive… why did you just arrive… why did you just arrive…

─If you’re watching Tuni’s broadcast, please, just play something other than the game you’re about to play.

─Please don’t play games like that with Rene.

─What even is that game, you nerds?

─Just don’t.

After greeting the believers, I logged into Miscode and waited, when suddenly I heard a ding! sound, and Tuni connected as well.

[Hello, Rene!]

“Oh, hello there….”

[Did you discuss what game you’re going to play today?]

…Ah. I completely forgot.

“Uh, everyone… The game we’re playing today is that ‘We Chained’ game….”

[Huh?! What, what did you say, Rene…?]

“…?”

What’s this? What’s wrong?