A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 220

Turning on the camera during a broadcast means I’ve somewhat adapted to it.

I wasn’t as strange a person as I thought.

And the gazes of others weren’t as terrifying as I imagined either.

But that didn’t mean my anxiety had completely vanished.

Sometimes, I wondered if people liked me just because I was the streamer ‘Rene,’ even while feeling alienated by my appearance.

Of course, if someone heard these thoughts of mine, they’d likely say:

“Isn’t it much better that you’re liked for being ‘Rene’ without being tied down by appearances?”

I don’t think that’s entirely wrong.

However, when I recall the looks directed at me, the first thought that comes to mind is still fear… so it’s hard for me to take that statement positively.

Can I really slowly organize and accept this feeling?

I guess I can.

No.

I have to accept it.

No matter what anyone says, in the end, it’s a path I’ve chosen for myself.

“Uwaaaah….”

As I exhaled the breath I had been holding while washing my face, I slowly looked at the mirror.

There stood a girl with silvery-white hair and red eyes.

The same girl I always saw, Selene Benedetta, was there.

…Anyway, I should take a break today.

★

For some reason, there was a perception in Remagal that I took a lot of breaks, but honestly, I couldn’t help but feel wronged.

Of course, I had no intention of saying that I never took breaks at all.

But I couldn’t accept the dishonorable image of being a “streamer who randomly takes breaks when bored.”

Just recently, I had officially decided to take a break once a week, and before that, I had streamed every day without a break.

But humans tend to focus more on negatives than positives.

Due to a few sudden breaks, people thought I often took breaks.

It naturally made me feel like it was too much.

Considering that the original social holiday… weekends happen twice a week, shouldn’t I get praised just for working six days a week?

Of course, the job of a streamer is to be seen as freelance, but still, it feels excessive to be criticized this much just for saying I want to take breaks.

Especially since there were valid reasons for my previous breaks.

So I hope those Rebongi criticizing me for taking breaks reflect on themselves…

“Ugh…”

Anyway, today Streamer Rene is on break.

…But VTuber Rene is not on break.

So what exactly will VTuber Rene do today?

“Haa…”

Thinking about that naturally made me sigh.

If there’s been anything I’ve been troubled about recently, it’s most about my VTuber activities.

The reason I started as a VTuber was ultimately to make money.

To be precise, I wanted to attract people’s attention.

Within the realm of internet broadcasting, I realized that the option of being a VTuber had many attractive aspects.

At that time, I concluded that being active as VTuber Rene would yield much greater benefits than just being Streamer Rene.

But now…I mean, specifically, Streamer Rene has been quite successful.

With an average viewer count exceeding 8,000… it’s clearly a respectable figure you can deduce from a quick search.

So what does being a VTuber, which I started to attract attention, mean for me now?

Is it merely a system for creating content differences?

In New Dimension as a streamer.

For anything else, as a VTuber.

But what about chatting?

Both Streamer Rene and VTuber Rene hold chat streams, right?

No.

Why should I partition the content in such a way?

Of course, if suddenly Streamer Rene were to play games other than those in New Dimension, or VTuber Rene were to explore New Dimension, everyone would doubt it.

Especially if VTuber Rene played New Dimension, they’d figure out that Streamer Rene and VTuber Rene are the same person…

But ultimately, won’t everyone accept it?

… I don’t know.

The reason I have to ponder this as well.

What this VTuber thing even means to me.

In the first place, VTuber was simply a choice to survive in the internet broadcast industry for me…

Tuni wouldn’t be able to provide the answer to this question.

No matter how knowledgeable Tuni is, she is, after all, just a streamer and not a VTuber.

But there aren’t any VTuber-acting people among the streamers around me.

Tuni and Edde are ordinary streamers.

Harum is an Online YouTuber.

The Sirius Team may do broadcasts, but fundamentally they are pro gamers.

Owen might like VTubers, but in the end, he is just a viewer expressing his fan love, not someone providing insights about the VTuber profession.

“Phew…”

Today, thoughts related to all this seem to be flooding in.

Streamer Rene has to turn on the camera and stream from now on because of that, huh?

VTuber Rene is ultimately broadcasting behind a mask, after all.

Of course, considering that the essence of VTuber Rene is “Inquisition Officer of the Iya Cult,” I guess that can also be seen as me, Selene Benedetta.

But it feels like there’s a difference from what I think.

What even is a VTuber?

It would be great if there’s someone around me doing VTuber activities…

★

[Hello, Rene! I’m Konomi Eri, a VTuber like you in the streaming world! You can just call me Eri!]

“Ah, uh… hello…”

Just hearing her voice, I could tell… me and Eri were polar opposites.

But I couldn’t voice any complaints here.

I was the one receiving help, after all.

[From what I’ve heard, you need advice regarding your VTuber activities….]

“Ah, yes… I was reflecting on why I’m doing VTuber activities and feeling uncertain…”

Whether I like it or not.

If I had to choose between the two, I’d say I like it.

…No, I’m not sure.

When I think about how my followers praise me and listen to my stories, I feel good.

But that’s no different from when I stream as Streamer Rene!

So can I really say I like being a VTuber?

“So I wanted to hear from another VTuber….”

After pondering various aspects, the person I consulted happened to be Jaehun, the head of the Sirius Team.

I learned that there are quite a few partner streamers associated with the Sirius Team who are also VTubers.

Thanks to that, I ended up having this conversation, so I’ll have to remember to thank him later…

[Umm… Well then, could you share how you came to start VTubing? Let’s go step by step starting from the basics!]

“Ah, that….”

[I can start first since it might be a bit embarrassing for you. Hmm. I started simply because I liked VTubers. There’s a famous VTuber group in Japan, and after watching one of my favorite members, whom they call a lady, I felt like I wanted to give it a try!]

“Me, I chose it… for money…”

[…Ah, I see.]

“After looking into it, it seemed to align well with my thoughts for various reasons…”

Eri’s voice made me feel somewhat like I’d made a mistake.

Saying I did it for money in front of someone who started simply because they liked it?

Couldn’t she think poorly of me?

[If it’s for money… well, that’s definitely the most realistic reason. VTubers tend to have a pretty thick fanbase, so it provides a lot of comfort in various ways.]

“Sorry….”

[No? You don’t have to apologize, Rene! While I do feel a bit disappointed, I can’t force my perspective on you. But… um… in my case, I started the job because I truly like it, so I’m not quite sure how to advise you.]

After thinking quite a bit, Eri asked me another question.

[Rene, is your current income alright?]

“Yes….”

It’s not just alright; it’s more than enough.

Thanks to that, I can use it in various ways.

[Then, I think it might be a sense of emptiness arising from having achieved your goals, don’t you think?]

A sense of emptiness arising from having fulfilled goals…

[In my case, since I like being a VTuber itself, I can continue to gain motivation while doing it, but for you, it’s a different kind of motivation that’s hard to sustain.]

Could it be that?

It feels a bit different from how I think…

[So how about considering a new goal you can achieve through your VTuber activities? For instance, you could create your own original song…!]

★

After concluding my conversation with Eri, I decided to set a new goal.

Even if her perspective was somewhat different from mine, it didn’t feel completely wrong.

…Even so, creating an original song seems a bit out of reach.

“Thank you for today, even though it was sudden….”

[Oh, it’s fine! Honestly, I enjoyed watching your streams, so I wanted to have this conversation with you, hehe…!]

“Ah… t-thank you…?”

[And Rene, I didn’t ask before because it might be rude, but… are you thinking of quitting your VTuber activities? Have you grown tired of streaming…?]

Quitting.

There certainly is such an option.

But until just now, I had never thought of it even once.

The reason must be clear…

“I don’t plan to quit… I like talking with my followers…”

Regardless of all this, I don’t dislike broadcasting as VTuber Rene.

I consider the broadcasts, similar yet different from those of Streamer Rene, enjoyable in their own way.

Yes.

So I guess that’s why I can have these kinds of concerns.

[…Then since I counseled you today, let’s collaborate next time!]

“Collaboration…?”

[Combining streams!]

“Ah… okay….”

With that conversation, I hung up and looked up at the ceiling.

A new goal, huh?

The first thing that comes to mind is….

★

[Rene @LeneVtuber · 1 min ago]

Today I’m taking a break due to personal matters.

★

[Eri: Rene???]