A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 231

“I thought Eri was definitely going to suggest a game collaboration…”

But what she brought was an ASMR MaicaRong chatter-focused broadcast.

To prepare for a talk-centric broadcast with someone I barely knew…

She was indeed someone who was incredibly popular the moment I laid eyes on her.

[Ah… I thought playing games would be fine at first. But, um, it’s a characteristic of the fans watching the broadcast, I guess? There are quite a few who don’t really enjoy collaborations.]

“…Huh?”

They don’t really like collaborations?

Why?

Don’t they generally like just the act of broadcasting?

“What’s the reason…?”

[Well… um, of course, there are many who do enjoy collaborations, right? It can be fun to see the chemistry between streamers, and one can expect unexpected events to happen…]

But Eri continued speaking.

[The thing is, the people who come to watch typically are fans of that specific streamer, right? So, there are a good number of them who want to enjoy only that streamer’s broadcast. Rather than mingling with other streamers they don’t know, they’d prefer what they usually see from the streamer, you know?]

…Aha.

I’ve never thought about it from that perspective, but it made sense once explained.

Well.

If I did a collaboration with a game I was playing and just kept explaining the world of that collaboration game, I wouldn’t want to continue.

I wouldn’t be able to understand what was going on, after all.

[Plus, when you focus on playing a game, you naturally speak less, right? The reactions you can show are limited as well. If you’re already not a big fan of collaborations and then try to balance playing a game and broadcasting it, it’s tough…]

“From the fan’s perspective, it might become a boring broadcast…”

[Yes, that’s right. So, I thought it would be better for MaicaRong to continuously have conversations on various topics and focus on communication. After all, the biggest advantage is that there’s little chance for the flow to be interrupted, right?]

I see.

I’ve learned something new again.

Generally, the people who come to watch broadcasts are fans of that particular streamer.

In other words, since this collaboration is happening on Eri’s channel, that means many of Eri’s fans will be tuning in.

They want to see Eri in action and communicate with her.

So, does that mean I should say minimal things for Eri’s fans?

[Of course, there are exceptions. For example, in the case of corporations, especially in Japan, there are quite a few fans who value collaborations with Kizuna and TeeTee, so collaborations happen often. As for me, I love how the lady interacts with Nat-chan and the black star, and then there’s Hinami with Izumi-chan…]

…Hmm.

I wanted to ask, but Eri started talking about something incomprehensible.

I guess I can ask later.

★

[Konomi Eri]

[Today we’re doing an ASMR MaicaRong broadcast with partner streamer Rene!]

[Talk | 9,958 viewers | 00:05:11]

─But why aren’t we doing ASMR?

─For real, usually when it’s an ASMR broadcast, you’d start with an introduction in ASMR…

─Sigh, I guess now you can just do it randomly, huh? ㅇㅇ;

[…Oh, right! I’m sorry! Since it’s a collaboration, I totally forgot! Everyone, please calm down! Let’s start over from the beginning, alright? That’s how it should go, right? Okay?]

─Is this broadcast host also a bot???

─What’s this familiarity?

─I feel like our bot beast girl would fit well here ㅇㅇ…

─Fact) If this was the bot beast girl, she’d just say to skip the apology and jump straight into the power struggle.

─Really, just the act of apologizing would be top-tier;

─Please don’t elevate Rene, other followers ㅎㅎ;

─The standards here are crazy chill, lolol;

[Alright, Rene! So let’s start over again, everyone just wait a moment! I’ll set up the microphone. …Ahem. Aaaah… Your psychology, analysis complete…! Psychologist Konomi Eri is here…! And today’s guest…!]

Eri’s voice tickled my ears completely different from before, and at the same moment, I turned on the power for the ASMR microphone I had prepared earlier.

“Hello everyone…. I’m Rene, the Inquisition Officer of the Iya Cult….”

The most difficult aspect of this ASMR content was indeed the tone of the voice.

Typically, while broadcasting as a VTuber, I make sure to relax my voice compared to usual.

And in ASMR, the signature soft whispering tone is crucial.

I’m already speaking with less effort, and now to whisper that tone…

That’s quite a hassle.

I can’t even tell how my voice sounds to others at these times.

─Kya, lolol

─You saved the lives of the followers, thank you, great Hwang Eri

─I said one day ASMR coins would skyrocket, huh? lolol

─I just got goosebumps in my ears…

─Today is the day〔Deleted message.〕

…Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the reaction was bad.

When I practiced briefly earlier, Eri had said it was absolutely going to succeed and insisted that I had to use ASMR as my main content.

To be honest, I thought that was somewhat exaggerated, but if it’s this level of reaction, maybe it wouldn’t be bad to use it as regular content…?

[As I mentioned yesterday, today I plan to read MaicaRong…. I’ve actually received a ton of questions… I tried to narrow it down from those that came in yesterday, but if we have time after reading them all, feel free to send more….]

─How far can we go in this room?

[Uh… as long as you maintain appropriate boundaries, that’s fine….]

─Is “female dog” okay?〔Deleted message.〕

─Immediately deleted, lololol

─Whoa, the standards are pretty strict here ㅇㅋㅇㅋ got it

─It’s not strict; this is how it normally is, you psychos

─Those people over there are pretty intense, lol;

[Oh, oh…. It really is a little intense….]

…Huh?

Was that last chat intense?

I thought it was normal since I was so used to it…

But I didn’t really care to be bothered or intervene with such things.

Honestly, I didn’t think anything of it.

If it’s fine in my broadcast, then it’s probably fine enough, right?

As long as there’s no outright crossing of lines, or as long as something doesn’t go wrong during a collaboration like this…

[So shall we slowly transition to MaicaRong, Rene…? Let’s start with something light….]

And just as Eri said that, something paper-like popped up on the broadcast screen.

The MaicaRong site I had previously previewed.

There was nothing particularly special about it, just a plain white sheet with sentences written on it.

【Hello Heiri! Hello Rene!】

【I knew you both were partner streamers for the Sirius Team, but it’s my first time learning you have a connection through this announcement.】

【Could you tell us how you became connected?】

The reason Eri and I formed a connection?

It was when I was feeling somewhat disillusioned about VTuber broadcasting that Jaehun, the head of the Sirius Team, introduced us to each other.

It would be simple to talk about that, but… as Eri mentioned earlier.

The people who come to watch this channel basically are fans of that channel’s streamer.

And among the fans, there are quite a few who don’t like collaborations.

Since we are currently broadcasting on Eri’s channel, that means most of the viewers are Eri’s fans…

So what I need to do here isn’t to start speaking first; instead, I need to follow Eri’s lead.

[That’s a safe yet very important question….]

“That’s true…”

Seeing Eri begin the conversation so naturally, I was reassured that my thoughts had not been wrong.

Of course, if I had asked Eri directly, I could have alleviated this worry long ago, but Eri had continued to talk about things I found difficult to understand right up until just before we started the broadcast.

She looked so happy, and it felt hard to interrupt in the middle…

[First, the head introduced me to Rene, right?]

“Yes….”

[Um, but is it okay if I talk about this, Rene?]

“Yes, it’s fine….”

─What is this? What story is it then?

─Is it some serious story?
[…Yes. Um, Rene was struggling with the direction of her broadcast…. So, as a senior VTuber? I gave her some advice….]

“Right….”

─Woah

─I didn’t have any strange thoughts, did I???

─I can’t live without Rene ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[…That’s not it…! It went well, so please, followers, don’t worry… Right, Rene?]

“Yes….”

─Thank goodness, oh boy

─You scared me there, beast girl ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

─But why does this tension keep leading to short answers?

─Don’t drop my 8 billion followers!

─Once graduation hits, I’ll be bawling in the room ㅠㅠ Honestly, I’m already tearing up from fear ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[…Um, anyway, that’s how we became connected, leading to this collaboration…!]

─Did you just stick a straw in her???

─Woah, lolol

─Our Eri is not a mosquito… don’t slander her…

─Finally, is our Eri fulfilling her dream??

[That’s not it…! Let’s not bring up dream talk…. But honestly, if I’m called a mosquito, I might have nothing to say…? …What if I really suck blood from Rene? What would happen, Rene…?]

A mosquito?

What did that mean?

Mosquitoes are pests, so it sounds bad…

But since it’s said so openly, there might be another meaning hidden within.

After all, Eri wouldn’t say something negative during a collaboration like this…

“Yes….”

─????

─Lolololololol

─You’re amusing, aren’t you? ㅎㅎ;

“Thanks for the compliment…”

Well, this much should be good, right?

Thinking that, I glanced at the chat window and saw plenty of messages saying I was entertaining.

[…Um, let’s move on to the next MaicaRong!]

“Yes….”

─Wow, what’s this? I’m suffocating

─Is this really a collaboration? It’s not something weird, right?

Well, there were chats in between talking about power struggles and asking if it would start again, but looking at the nicknames, they were clearly followers.

Even during the collaboration, they were starting the odd teasing again.

Do they not care that Eri’s fans might feel uncomfortable?

I wish they’d remember this isn’t my broadcast.

─I really feel suffocated right now

─Kekeke, gasp…

While we were continuing the broadcast, unexpectedly, Eri suddenly asked me.

[Rene… um, are you… perhaps upset?]

“No….”

See, you all keep it up, and even Eri gets confused.

─I feel like I’m going to lose my mind, going mental, going mental, going mental

─Did they have a fight before the broadcast???

─Just how bad did they fight before this to lead to such a broadcast?

─Wow, girls’ power struggles really are intense, huh?