Chapter 41

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There was a large window in the

deserted cafe.

From inside the store, one can

probably see the outside. But I don't know who wants to see the view of just a

wide miscellaneous metal wall.

Through the small window, I could hear

their voices.

“50 million. Are you sure this is the

amount you want to negotiate ……?”

This is Suda-san’s voice.

I don’t know what he’s talking about,

but his tone is the same as when I met him before.

“I don’t care about the money. I want

to know that you will keep your word.”

What I heard in reply was a voice

filled with hostility.

A voice filled with hostility.

For a moment, I couldn’t tell whose

voice it was.

It’s Inori-chan, though.

But it didn’t match the voice of

Inori, who had been smiling at me.

I had never heard such a passionate

voice before.

Because of Suda-san's laid-back

atmosphere, the gap between the two is more noticeable.

I seemed to jump out in a hurry when I

saw Inori-chan, but I didn’t think the conversation would go in the right

direction if I showed up when I didn’t even know what they were talking about.

I held back the urge to intervene and

listened carefully.

“Oh, of course, I keep my promise …

but that sounds like I threatened Inori-kun.”

“What’s the difference? How can you

say that after you’ve already checked out my mother’s hospital?”

“I just happened to know, and somehow

I just told you. I don’t remember saying a word about what I would do with this

information.”

“...”

……?

Threatening. Her mother’s hospital.

The words I’,m hearing are not

innocent by any means. At least it’s not a good situation.

I try to put the pieces of information

together and guess what’s going on, but…

“Even so, I’ve made a good purchase.

–For only 50 million, I can get Inori’s account.”

Suda’s words made me understand

everything without even guessing.

Ah, that’s what it is.

This man. This bastard.

He’s trying to intimidate Inori’s mom

and steal her account.

It reminded me of Inori-chan, who

smiled happily every time one more person subscribed.

I remember Inori-chan reading out the

comments one by one, happily and with a sense of importance.

I knew how much thought had gone into

that account.

I could feel the heat in my eyes.

My fists clenched.

Anger fills my head.

Endure? What?

“…………”

When I saw Inori’s frustrated face, I

knew she was about to burst into tears.

It’s not like I can’t stand it.

“–Hey.”

I opened the door, at the same time, I

called on Suda.

It was a surprisingly intimidating

voice for me.

Both of their eyes turned to me.

Both of their eyes were wide open.

“Wha… why?”

It was Inori-chan who let out an

incredulous sound.

This is not a situation for a mere fan

who doesn’t even know Inori-chan’s face should be allowed to interfere.

But still.

It’s because I’m a fan that I can’t

forgive it.

“Who are you?”

“………. I’m just a fan of yours,

Inori-chan.”

“Then can you please stay out of my

way? This is no place for an ordinary person to be. I want to say. Where did

you hear that from?”

“I understand that you are threatening

Inori-chan to steal her account.”

“… Hmm. I need some hush money fee.

How much do you want?”

This bastard.

I’m not here to talk about money.

“…… You’re starting to piss me off.”

“I don’t like wasting my time. Answer

me quickly.”

Suda said so while hitting the desk

with his fingertips.

Now, Suda and Inori-chan are sitting

across a small desk from each other. I am standing next to them.

Ibuki-chan is standing behind Suda.

Honestly, I felt like I wanted to grab

Suda’s chest and hit him right away, but I knew that it wouldn’t solve

anything.

Endure and negotiate.

Think like an idiot.

バカなりに頭を回せ。

Even for me, there is something I can

bet on.

I clenched my teeth tightly and calmed

myself down before I opened my mouth.

“You’re Suda-san, right?”

“You know him? I was aware that I was

behind the scenes, even though I was a representative.”

“I had a chance to visit ……. Can I ask

you something else?”

“I’ll answer as many questions as you

want, as long as you forget about today.”

“… What are you going to do with

Inori-chan’s account?”

That was the first piece of

information I needed to get.

It’s a good idea to have a good idea

of what they’re doing.

The reason is that only the person who

created the account can use it.

The avatar is based on the person’s

own body, so even if someone else were to enter the avatar, there would be a

great deal of discomfort in the expression and body.

I have heard that this is because the

information of nerves and muscles is included in the avatar.

That is the reason why when you create

an avatar, you can change the height but not the balance of the height and

width, or you can change the hairstyle but not the shape of the face.

That’s why I didn’t understand why

Suda was aiming for Inori-chan’s account.

“I know what you’re thinking. I know

what you’re thinking, but no normal person would want someone else’s account.

After all, it’s useless.”

“…”

“But I’m not an ordinary person. I

have more money and status than most. –And most importantly, I have the

technology.”

“… Technology?”

Suda speaks exaggeratedly as if to

show off his accomplishments.

“Yes, technology. I’ve been thinking

about it for a long time. I’ve been wondering if I could somehow replace what’s

inside these Vtubers. They’re terrible at everything.”

“…!”

Maybe this person.

“The whole “you can’t use other

people’s avatars” thing is a thing of the past. I’ve perfected a device that

lets you enter any avatar you want.”

“What the…”

“Yes, you can. It requires a huge

amount of data on the person’s avatar usage ……, as well as records of facial

expressions and movements, so there are still some limitations. Avatars that

have been used for roughly 5,000 hours will work fine. With that in mind, the

Vtuber guys were just fine. Every single one of them uses that much lighter.”

It didn’t look like a lie.

In other words, this man was preying

on the avatar records that all the Vtubers had carefully used.

“The time has come to put a

professional gamer in a good-looking avatar and make it a Vtuber. –We don’t

need the people inside.”

“Oh, what …!”

His eyes were dyed bright red.

I didn’t think he would spit out words

that I didn’t need it.

It is a word that insults not only

Inori-chan but all Vtubers.

"No, wait. Maybe...”

I suddenly realized.

I am looking at Ibuki-chan standing

behind Suda.

“Then, the one inside Ibuki-chan’s

is...”

Think calmly.

Who will be the first spearhead of

Suda’s plan?

It’s a no-brainer.

“Oh, I’m a professional gamer girl…

The original girl was crying funnily. ‘…… Please, give it back to me. Ibuki is

everything to me. It was originally the company’s property, and I don’t know

what a joke it is to ask for it back.”

“You, you, you ……! What do you think

Vtubers are, ……!”

I have seen Ibuki-chan’s streams

several times.

She was always a girl who laughs

happily and brightened the viewer’s mood.

I couldn’t even imagine her crying.

I turned my eyes to glare at the fake

Ibuki.

“Hey, the person in Ibuki-chan… Why

are you doing that? Didn’t you resist??”

“Not really. I just thought that I

could use this story to become stronger. If you’re well known, you’ll be able

to interact with world rankers.”

“……Oh.”

The words returned in Ibuki-chan’s

voice that did not seem to belong to Ibuki-chan upset my heart.

I’m sure Zero Live has already ended

by Suda’s hands.

Suddenly, I met Inori-chan’s eyes.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble,

fans. I’m fine.”

She smiles faintly and speaks softly

to me.

It was a bad one so it was easy to

understand.

“…Nothing is okay. This is absolutely

a shameless joke.”

“It’s true, I’m fine”

“It’s a lie”

“It’s not a lie.”

“Then why are you crying …!”

Where are the fans who can’t help but

see her tears wetting her cheeks?

She was driven to the point where she

couldn’t notice the tears, but I couldn’t stop with Inori-chan, who cares for

me, in front of her, and laughing forcibly.

I decided that I would risk everything

to save Inori-chan.

That’s what I decided.

“Suda-san. Play against me.”

“… What?”

“If you play against me and I win,

back off from Inori-chan.

“

This word can exist as something

meaningful only because it is “Kazuto”.

I’m sure Suda will take this match.

“What are you talking about? What are

the benefits to me?”

I knew he would deny it.

That’s why I open the status of

“Kazuto”.

It’s a record.

It’s a record of all the times I’ve

played LoS.

The number of my kills. The number of

my wins. And the ranking.

I could see the surprise on Suda’s

face.

“…World. No. 1.”

“…tch”

Ibuki’s face changed color, and

Inori-chan was also staring at me with wide eyes.

Everyone stop talking because of that.

The silence was as if the air had

frozen.

In that, I declared.

“If you beat me, I’ll work for Zero

Live for the rest of my life. Suda-san, you want to put a strong player among

the Vtubers, don’t you?”

I put myself up for a bet.

“–The strongest player in the entire

world. Isn’t it enough for a stake?”

Don’t touch Inori-chan, you bastard.

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