A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 260

Sure. If you think about it, Bora’s words really aren’t wrong.

What value do I have when I’m just stuck at home every day and can’t even broadcast now?

“That’s right… I’m a washed-up person…”

After contemplating that, when I finally acknowledged Bora’s words, for some reason, Bora, who was in my arms, frowned and looked up at me.

“Rene, you mustn’t say things like that!”

“…Huh?”

“You shouldn’t say you’re washed up!”

…Huh? What are you talking about? The one who just called me washed up is you, Bora…

“A truly cool person is someone who confidently shouts, ‘I can do it!'”

…Is Bora actually not an elementary school student, as the Rebungi sometimes say on broadcasts?

“That’s a great thing to say…”

“My teacher told me that at school!”

Oh, I see.

“Anyway, that means you can’t say such things, either!”

“But you were the one who first said I’m a washed-up person…”

It’s nice to say, ‘I can do it’ confidently and not think negatively. But isn’t it even worse to say such things about someone else…?

“I like both the washed-up Rene and the Rene who tries to become better! But I don’t want to see the Rene who says such things…”

…What? I was just trying to say something nice.

Well, come to think of it, there hasn’t been anyone who has been as positive about me as Bora.

That’s why even I, who tends to shy away from others, always look forward to when Bora comes over.

“Thank you, Bora…”

“If you’re thankful, you can just call me Bora comfortably!”

“Ah, I’ll try to do my best from now on…”

“How long are you going to just try?”

Good question… I probably won’t stop trying for a lifetime…

I swallowed that thought internally as I picked Bora up and moved her to sit in front of the computer.

I had to finish the conversation with Eri anyway.

I started the conversation because I was curious first, so I shouldn’t cut it off unilaterally.

“Whoa?!”

“I’m sorry… I was actually working until Bora arrived…”

“Huh? Weren’t you fired?”

“Not exactly fired… Uh, if I were to compare it to school, it feels like a short vacation…? But even during a vacation, there are times you have to go to school for club activities, right…?”

“…Ah! Just like Sunho has to go to school during breaks for soccer club?”

“Yeah… That’s the vibe…”

I don’t know who Sunho is.

“Then I’ll just wait on the bed behind. Mom said I shouldn’t disturb you while you’re working.”

“Ah, thank you… I’ll finish as soon as I can…”

“Okay!”

Well, I don’t really consider it a disturbance.

Still, it definitely makes things a lot easier.

It’s not easy to type in Miscode while holding Bora in my arms.

Anyway, once Bora slipped from my grasp, she started fiddling with her phone while lying on the bed behind.

Now I can get back to my work.

[Rene: I’m back, Eri!]

[Konomi Eri: I really thought you ran away, Rene! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Konomi Eri: Anyway, what I’m doing isn’t really that weird, you know?]

[Konomi Eri: It might seem strange to an ordinary person who doesn’t know anything, but…]

[Konomi Eri: It’s definitely not that ㅠㅠ]

[Rene: Yeah, it’s okay. Preferences vary from person to person, I understand completely.]

[Konomi Eri: That’s something a person who doesn’t understand at all would say!]

How did she know that?

[Konomi Eri: The bath space isn’t really that strange!]

[Konomi Eri: Japanese VTubers do it a lot, you know? ㅠㅠ]

★

[Rene: Eri!]

[Rene: Um, I’m sorry, but can you explain what this is?]

[Rene: https://neitter.com/konomieri/status/156165498421316]

Eri’s head was pounding harder than it had in a long time.

A DM from Rene that she received out of the blue.

There was a link in that DM, and just the middle part ‘konomieri’ made it easy to tell that it was her Neiter link.

‘This is my Neiter… what does she want me to explain?’

Of course, Eri didn’t have the ability to tell what the content was just by looking at the link.

So, Eri clicked on the link.

[Konomi Eri🍶Sirius @KonomiEri【Host】]

[It’s the much-anticipated bath space time! Perverts are strictly prohibited!💢]

[40,000 listeners • November 17 • 1:02:33]

[▶ Play recording]

[8:28 PM • November 17, 20XX • 60,000 views]

“Whoa?!”

In exchange, she had the experience of receiving a link to her bath space from an acquaintance.

Of course, to be fair, Eri didn’t think bath spaces themselves were something to be embarrassed about.

They’re a content type she did regularly, and there were times when she enjoyed the reactions from her sake buddies.

The problem was with the acquaintance.

Specifically, it was embarrassing that someone, especially a person with a style like Rene, had seen that.

[Konomi Eri: Ah]

[Konomi Eri: nmlknmlkhnmlkhnm;ahnmlkhn;uhjlihnhl;]

[Konomi Eri: How did you see that? I mean, really, if you attack me with something like this all of a sudden…]

Of course, it was common knowledge that the VTuber industry in Korea had evolved to fit Korean sentiments.

While it was still influenced by the home country of Japan, it had nonetheless developed independently to a certain extent.

As evidence, there had been a moment when the Japanese VTuber industry had virtually collapsed.

Thanks to the efforts of a company called Starsflow in recent years, it’s experiencing its third boom.

‘However, while the Korean VTuber sector didn’t collapse completely when the Japanese VTuber industry faltered, it was certainly hit significantly.’

To put it another way… it meant that Korea’s VTuber industry, while influenced by Japan, had distinct differences as well.

From sentiments and various other clear differences.

Since Eri had pursued her dream of entering the VTuber industry by looking up to Japanese VTubers, the direction she was heading was closer to that of Japanese VTubers than Korean ones.

One example that showcased this direction was the bath space.

Bath space.

As the name suggests, it’s where you turn on a space and take a bath while interacting with viewers.

Basically, Japan differs from Korea in that there’s a higher usage rate of Neiter among social media platforms.

So it’s quite common for VTubers to hold spaces.

And one of the contents held in spaces is indeed the bath space.

For Eri, who had been heavily influenced by the Japanese VTuber industry, it was natural to do a bath space.

But that didn’t mean Eri was proud of it.

‘Of all people, why did Rene have to find that…?!’

It was only natural that Eri thought her embarrassment had been exposed.

She was well aware that in terms of hobbies, VTubers were often viewed as something hidden away.

Of course, she wanted to question what standard defines a hobby as public or private, but regardless, that was the societal view.

In Korea, that perspective was even more pronounced, especially with Japanese VTubers being seen as the deeper end of that private pool, and bath space content was one of the most difficult to comprehend.

From Eri’s perspective… Rene belonged to the general public.

She understood games, anime, and manga well enough, but she knew almost nothing about the VTuber industry.

That someone like Rene had seen her bath space…

‘I just want to die…’

It wasn’t strange at all for Eri to think that way.

[Rene: Ah, I’m sorry, a guest showed up at my house so I was just there for a second.]

[Konomi Eri: I really thought you ran away, Rene! That’s not actually strange!]

Moreover, with such sudden talk and then ducking out, Eri’s heart really felt like it was shattered.

“I heard recently that Rene was doing spaces… Maybe while looking for something to do there, she saw what I did? But, no, that was streamer Rene. They are two different people… um, they are different people, so… I don’t have a close relationship with streamer Rene. Huh. Then why did VTuber Rene suddenly send me this…?”

Muttering as if the world was ending, Eri started staring blankly into space.

[Rene: I’m back, Eri!]

But fortunately, after about 30 minutes, Eri received a message from Rene again.

“The thing about a guest showing up wasn’t a lie… I wonder if this is how a menhera feels…?”

[Konomi Eri: I really thought you ran away, Rene! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Konomi Eri: Nonetheless, what I did isn’t really that weird!]

[Konomi Eri: It might appear odd to an ordinary person who knows nothing, but…]

[Konomi Eri: It’s definitely not that ㅠㅠ]

[Rene: Yeah, it’s okay. Preferences vary from person to person; I understand completely.]

[Konomi Eri: That’s something a person who doesn’t understand at all would say!]

“Yeah. I’m just going to die…”

Despite saying that, Eri diligently continued to make excuses.

[Konomi Eri: The bath space isn’t really that strange!]

[Konomi Eri: Japanese VTubers do it quite a lot, you know? ㅠㅠ]

And the reply that came back from Rene was…

“…Oh?”

It was incredibly surprising content.

[Rene: No, I don’t actually think it’s weird.]

[Rene: No.]

[Rene: To be honest, I do think it’s a little odd.]

[Rene: I contacted you to ask how you do that.]

★

[Rene @LeneVtuber · 1 hour ago]

In an hour, at 7 PM, I plan to turn on the space. Please take care of me.

★

[Neiter Space]

[Rene]

[Hello, long time no see]