Chapter 240: Uncle DIO Wants to Be a Vtuber?
After the three-party meeting, Sakurai Saki's mother didn't stay long. She rested for a day and then hurried back.
Today was Friday, sunny.
Recently, the atmosphere of studying in the student council had become much more serious, mainly because midterm exams were approaching.
It was already the end of October.
This semester would end in December. Normally, schools in Japan held their cultural festivals in November. But Shuchiin was different — its cultural festival was held near Christmas, at the end of December.
After the cultural festival would be the final exams and Christmas.
It really made no sense to schedule the festival right before the exam week.
After school.
In the student council room, Shirogane Miyuki held his phone, sitting on the sofa, staring at the screen with a serious expression.
Sakurai Saki pushed the door open and stepped in, glancing around.
"Chika hasn't arrived yet?"
Today he hadn't come particularly early.
Yesterday, Shinomiya Kaguya said she would tutor Ishigami Yuu. It wasn't clear what sort of agreement the two of them had reached in private, but it surely had to do with Koyasu Tsubame.
No need to think too deeply about it, because besides that matter, there really was nothing else that could make Ishigami Yuu put in effort.
Hopefully Ishigami could withstand the "torture" of the little dried fish and the mountain of exam sheets, and not drown in the sea of academics.
Human potential was limitless — this time Ishigami Yuu probably wouldn't have any problems…
Umu… probably?
"Secretary Fujiwara seems to have gone to the board game club, and Iino is probably busy with Disciplinary Committee work."
Shirogane Miyuki's expression grew heavier and heavier.
Sakurai Saki noticed it.
"What are you watching?"
"Sakurai, you know YouTube, right?"
"I do. Why are you asking that? That question makes no sense at all."
Sakurai Saki sat down beside him.
Shirogane Miyuki was watching a livestream — a streamer playing PUBG, with pretty accurate shooting.
"Sorry… it's just, lately I've been really shocked."
Shirogane Miyuki turned off his phone.
"?" Sakurai Saki looked puzzled.
"Don't tell me you tried to be a streamer to make money and then failed, so now you're depressed?" Sakurai guessed.
He had also once considered being a streamer instead of working as a rental boyfriend, but in the end he gave up on it.
"Uhm… it's kind of related."
Shirogane Miyuki covered his face, his voice full of sorrow:
"My father… he… plans to become a Vtuber!"
Sakurai: Σ(°ロ°) ?!!!
Sakurai Saki suffered mental shock for the second time.
A middle-aged man becoming a Vtuber? And then tricking little girls into donating to him?
"You know what Vtubers are, right? They've been hot these past six months."
Shirogane Miyuki explained:
"I don't watch much myself, but that stuff is all anime-flavored. My father, a middle-aged uncle, wants to jump into that field."
"Even Kei-chan said, if her friends find out their father is a Vtuber, she won't dare go to school anymore."
"And have you managed to talk him out of it?" Sakurai Saki asked.
Otherwise, why bring it up?
"I talked him out of it… halfway."
Shirogane Miyuki lowered his head, his voice despairing:
"In the end, he chose the path of being a hot streamer. Recently he's even been uploading videos."
Sakurai Saki thought for a moment, then said:
"If done well, streamers really can make a lot of money."
The speed at which streamers could earn money was indeed like riding a rocket.
"Ah, what's Uncle Shirogane's channel called?" Sakurai asked.
Shirogane Miyuki opened his phone and searched for his father's channel.
Sakurai glanced at it and read aloud:
"Debt 500 Million Yen Channel."
"Kei-chan and I have absolutely no idea about this stuff, it's all him fumbling around by himself."
"…Only half a month since first video and already has ten thousand subscribers?"
Sakurai Saki was astonished.
This number of follows, the growth was truly terrifying.
The title of the first video — [About me being scammed, and in the end losing the whole company].
"Playing the tragic card, huh?"
That uncle really is… too good at it.
Handling everything alone from branding, scriptwriting, to managing the channel, yet the very first video already had over a hundred thousand views.
The newest video — [Clearly still owing hundreds of millions of yen, yet my son got accepted to Stanford, now I have even less money!]
The thumbnail was Shirogane's father holding his head, looking utterly distressed.
"Shirogane, you got into Stanford?"
"Umu. A few days ago I got the offer. I've always wanted to tell you guys, but never found the chance." Shirogane explained.
"Suddenly blurting it out like that… it feels kind of weird, right?"
"Exactly." Sakurai nodded.
Suddenly showing off that you got an acceptance letter from a prestigious school, it might just kill the mood.
But actually, he didn't need to overthink it. Everyone in the student council would definitely congratulate him.
"Lately my dad stays home every day making videos, saying he's about to start making money." Shirogane brought the story back to the earlier topic, then casually switched over to a livestream page:
"Look, this is a virtual streamer — inside is a voice actor, called 'naka no hito' or the person behind the scenes, while on the outside it's a 2D character."
"Good thing he's not doing Vtuber, that would've been a disaster." Shirogane sighed with emotion.
"…Your father really is skilled." Sakurai had to admit.
Doing self-media and being able to start earning money within the first six months was rare. Normally you'd even have to pay out of pocket, especially with a solo channel with no team at all.
Sakurai thought that tonight, when he got home, he could try donating to Shirogane Papa and see if he would shout "WRYYYYYY."
"This matter, Sakurai, don't tell anyone, okay."
No sooner had he finished speaking.
Clack — the door was pushed open.
Miko-chan blinked at the two inside the room.
"Senpai, why are you two looking at me like that?" Miko-chan tilted her head, puzzled.
(╹ -╹)?
Were they doing something against the rules?
This student council, no one really followed discipline anyway.
"Did you just… hear anything?" Shirogane asked.
"…" Miko-chan stayed silent.
She really didn't hear.
"Eh! Sakurai-senpai, you two are watching Class President's videos?"
Miko-chan's eyes sparkled, like she'd just found comrades, looking at the two with excitement.
Sakurai & Shirogane: (•~•) ? (｡· v ·｡) ?
What?
Class President, who?
Was it this Vtuber named Tsukino Mito?
Neither of them had ever really watched Vtubers before, they'd only heard a bit, so at best they were "outsiders" with vague impressions.
"Mito-chan's chatting livestreams are super fun!"
Chatting livestreams? Like… idle talk sessions?
"Miko-chan, I usually only watch videos, not livestreams." Sakurai explained.
He preferred playing games himself rather than watching others play.
"The type that only watches videos, huh? That trend isn't hot anymore these days, but I really like Kizuna Ai too!" Miko-chan hugged a pile of documents, cheerfully running over to the two.
Sakurai and Shirogane started racking their brains for ways to explain that they were "outsiders to the scene."
Half an hour later.
The subscription lists of the two on YouTube had over a dozen new Vtuber channels.
Gawr Gura, Shirakami Fubuki, Houshou Marine, Minato Aqua, Usada Pekora, Kiryu Coco… etc…
Miko-chan's enthusiastic introductions had been impossible to refuse.
...
After school.
Sakurai and Shirogane went to get their bicycles.
"Are all Vtuber viewers like Iino? Normally shy in socializing, but when introducing to others they get overly passionate." Shirogane sighed.
"Could be."
Sakurai also exhaled: "I always thought Vtuber viewers were all those tubby otaku, who knew Miko-chan also watched."