CHAPTER 102: [THE KID WHO CHANGES THE WORLD]

IIIIROH-SAMAaaaaaa!?

As soon as the call connected, she shouted those words, supposed to be our first conversation.

She is from Ukraine but lives in Japan. A real middle school student? A bilingual VTuber.

Wow?! I was surprised!

Eh, ahh… I'm sorry!

I got thrown off guard when she suddenly called me with "-sama" attached to my name.

I can't let my oshi (favorite) apologize. I have to express my love!

No, no, don't worry about it. I'm a huge fan of yours, Ilyena-san. Your broadcasts that make Ukraine and Japan easy to understand are always helpful and informative.

No, no, no, it's me who is your huge fan of, Iroha-san. I watch your broadcasts without fail, and other people always get relied on you. Your linguistic skills are amazing, and, above all, you're adorable.

No, no, no…

Likewise, likewise…

It feels like we're in a matchmaking meeting.

And then, I snapped back to reality with a "Ha!"

Oh no, I let my otaku side slip out in my joy of talking to my oshi.

I was speaking incredibly fast.

Huh? Does she, Ilyena, have the same reaction?

If that's the case, it's a great honor for a VTuber.

Um, by the way, Iroha-sama. I wanted to ask, now that you reached out like this, does that mean you finally realized?

N?

There's no point in hiding it. Yes, it's me!

Ah, nice to meet you. I'm the Translator Girl Iroha.

EEEEhhhhhh?!?!? No wayyy!? You didn't realize it at alllll!

Huh?

N-no, I mean… Umm, Iroha-sama, did you notice anything?

…? Come to think of it, it's a little embarrassing to be called ‘-sama' from the first meeting. I would appreciate it if you could use my name without honorifics.

Not that!? L-look, my voice, and stuff! Do you have any thoughts about it?

Um…

Is that so?! Uuuhh, I thought my efforts had finally paid off since you previously said VTubers were your type. I thought it was finally happening.

Ah, but… I think your voice is incredibly lovely and cute! I love it!

I love you—I love you—I love you too! Kyaaahhhh~! U-um… I also really, really love you, Iroha-sama!

Really?! Yaaay! I'm so happy too!

Both of us rejoiced together.

Ahaha, what a wonderful moment… Oops, not a moment, but Ilyena shouted, "It's not just that!".

I-I'm sorry…

Ah, no! Please don't worry about it! It's my problem, so please don't mind it! Yes, I know, I know. That's fine. It's alright. Because I adore you, Iroha-sama!

Sigh…

Also, I would be happy if you could speak casually with me and drop the formal language. I'm more accustomed to that.

Is that so? Okay. Then I'll use casual language with you, Ilyena-chan.

No, that's not it.

Eh!?

I have my pride that I can't give up!

I-Is that so?

While talking to Ilyena, I had a thought.

I get thrown off when I'm talking to her!

For some reason, it's really hard to gauge the distance between us!

Perhaps it's because she's a VTuber, with a unique sensibility.

However, she's also one of my favorite VTubers, and I find that endearing, quirks included.

And if that's what she wants, then there's no choice.

I'll meet her expectations and casually talk to her, even if it's one-sided.

But, Iroha-sama, if that's the case. Why did you contact me? Your channel has over a thousand times more subscribers than mine. Honestly, it feels completely imbalanced.

Ah, well…

I explained the situation and told her I wanted her help with information dissemination.

Her response was…

Of course, I'd be happy to! That's what I want to say, but…

Guess it's a no after all, huh?

N-No! It's not like that!

N?

I thought she was rejecting me again and was about to give up, but she denied it.

So, what is she going to say?

On the one hand, I don't object to cooperating. However, my subscriber count is much smaller compared to yours, Irohasama, and I don't think my content will have a significant impact. It won't achieve the kind of effect you're hoping for.

That's…

Now that she mentioned it, it was entirely true.

Even a thousand subscribers, which is one-thousandth of mine, is a considerable number when viewed in isolation.

But my perspective gets distorted because I usually watch popular corporate VTubers.

However, when considering my and Angu Ogu's goals…

It seems I had cornered myself quite a bit.

I lacked sound judgment.

Yeah, you're right. No, it's okay. But just having you collaborate with me is reassuring.

Is that so? I'm sorry for not being capable enough.

That's not…

However, the negation that came out of my mouth was quite shallow.

Silence fell between us.

It was Ilyena who broke the silence.

Um, um! Can I make a suggestion?

A suggestion?

Yes. My channel doesn't have a large number of viewers. However, I have firsthand experience in Ukraine. So instead of individually disseminating information…

As if she had made up her mind, Ilyena said,

C-Can we collabs?!