“Good job today.” (Haruto)
“Yeah! Good job to you too, Haruto-san!” (Aya)
At 22:00, having finished the part-time job without any issues, they change into their regular clothes, exchange their usual greetings, and start walking home together.
“Hey~ let me I’ll walk you back home today, Haruto-san!” (Aya)
“I’ll pass.” (Haruto)
“Why!? I gathered up the courage to say that!” (Aya)
“Haha, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that today is a special day for Shirayuki-san, so let me walk you home instead.” (Haruto)
While there might be some mixed feelings about being escorted by a younger girl, the spoken sentiment was stronger.
“A special day for me?” (Aya)
“Yeah. Didn’t you surpass the viewer goal you set for today’s stream? 10,000 viewers.” (Haruto)
“Ah, hehe… If you put it that way, I’ll have no choice but to accept it.” (Aya)
She gives him the biggest smile of the day.
“Alright then, I’ll be the one to walk you home.” (Haruto)
“Okay!… Whoa!?” (Aya)
*Thud*
“Hey, are you okay!?” (Haruto)
“I’m okay, I’m okay! I just stumbled a bit.” (Aya)
“Be careful, it’s dark outside.” (Haruto)
“Yeah! Thanks.” (Aya)
She’s not only a streamer but also part of a professional gaming team. It would be bad if she got herself injured in such a way.
It’s the one thing she has to be careful about.
“But still, you achieved quite an incredible goal.” (Haruto)
“I’m the one most surprised. Getting true thatI I couldn’t have done it without Oni-chan, but honestly, I never thought I could achieve the goal… for a long time.” (Aya)
“For a long time?” (Haruto)
“Yeah. I haven’t told anyone this, but recently, I’ve been struggling a bit lately. Both my channel subscribers and viewers have remained stagnant for a while now.” (Aya)
“Oh, I see. I never thought of it that way at all.” (Haruto)
Some might argue, “As long as it’s not going down, it’s fine,” but the motivation for every content creator is always, “I want to become more famous!”
“I tried my best to hide it. It’s a bit discouraging to show it with my kind of character, you know?” (Aya)
“I totally understand. With that kind of happy-go-lucky character, it might be awkward to show it. Besides, if someone with over 300,000 subscribers talks about such things, it might piss off other content creators. The situation doesn’t resonate with everyone, after all.” (Haruto)
“Hehe~ As expected of you. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” (Aya)
“We’re working on the same field, so I can understand it to some extent.” (Haruto)
Despite having different numbers of subscribers, they share a lot of common ground because they’re in the work in the same industry.
“This is actually why I decided to shift from just streaming to posting videos. I thought relying only on streaming would be tough, so I wanted to establish another pillar.” (Aya)
“…” (Haruto)
“In that sense, finally achieving my goal felt really rewarding.” (Aya)
She wasn’t a famous streamer for nothing. Despite being young, she thinks and acts carefully without becoming complacent.
“I owe a lot to Oni-chan. It was only after getting involved with him that I started to grow again.” (Aya)
“I’m glad that I could help.” (Haruto)
(I didn’t know about the stagnation issue though…)
“Hey, Haruto-san, do you have any troubles or anything? I’d like to repay you if there’s something I can do.” (Aya)
“As a matter of fact, I do.” (Haruto)
“Really!?” (Aya)
Just as she was eager to hear more…
“Oh, umm! Sorry! It’s not that I’m happy you have troubles or anything!!” (Aya)
“Haha, don’t worry, I didn’t think of it like that.” (Haruto)
She frantically waves her hands, clearly in a state of panic.
“…I’ve been thinking about consulting with Shirayuki-san about something for a while now. There’s hardly anyone I can talk to openly about streaming matters, so you’re the only one.” (Haruto)
“I’ll do my best to help you, so fire away!” (Aya)
“Thank you. That’s reassuring.” (Haruto)
Aya clenches her fist, showing determination. It’s a bit embarrassing to consult with someone younger, but when it comes to this matter, there’s no one more reliable than her.
“So what I want to ask is—” (Haruto)
“Yeah?” (Aya)
“Lately, I’ve been having trouble thinking about the direction my channel should be taking…” (Haruto)
“In other words, whether to keep that toxic persona or change to a more natural personality, right?” (Aya)
“Exactly.” (Haruto)
Knowing the situation makes her the perfect person to consult with. With just a brief explanation, she grasps the situation accurately.
“My current number of subscribers is around 180,000… The fact that my channel is close to doubling in size1 ever since the incident makes me think a lot about what I should be doing in the future. Especially because the growth has been so rapid.” (Haruto)
“Are you thinking of graduating from the toxic content around your 200,000 subscribers milestone?” (Aya)
“Something like that… Maybe. Lately, I’m not sure what kind of character my viewers want.” (Haruto)
What has been built up over more than a year can be caught up to in just a month. While it’s a situation that a content creator would normally be happy about, it also introduces uncertainty about the direction of the channel.
“If I were in Haruto-san’s position, I’m sure I’d have the same worries. The growth is extraordinary, after all.” (Aya)
“…Ah, haha. Yeah, you’re right.” (Haruto)
“As a third party, I can offer my perspective on things. But it’s up to you to make the decision.” (Aya)
With such a considerate line of words, she starts speaking in a calm and relaxed tone.
“Firstly, what Oni-chan has built up so far is by no means wasted. If you hadn’t built up that toxic persona of yours, the current results wouldn’t have been possible, right?” (Aya)
“Yeah.” (Haruto)
“So, all the hard work you’ve put in so far hasn’t been wasted.” (Aya)
“… ” (Haruto)
Her words seemed to penetrate right through his heart.
Deep down, he felt uncomfortable that the various struggles he went through in the past to reach 100,000 subscribers were easily overtaken in such a short amount of time.
It went from:
—(There’s no way I can reach 100,000 subscribers.)
To:
—(If I can reach 200,000 subscribers this easily, what was the point of all the effort I’ve put in until now.)
“Oh, I see… I should have thought about it that way.” (Haruto)
He understands that this was the source of his troubles. His perspective had been narrow.
It was all about his own perception being misguided.
“…Actually, I’ve also had the same thoughts when I first started.” (Aya)
“R-really?” (Haruto)
“Yeah. I was working hard but my channel wasn’t growing much, and I even considered retiring. Then, I coincidentally matched up with a famous streamer and saw an unprecedented amount of growth… It made me happy, but I couldn’t help but wonder what all my previous efforts were for.” (Aya)
“…” (Haruto)
“But if I think about it, without putting in all that effort, the people who watched me might not have become fans. When I started thinking that way, it became much easier to cope.” (Aya)
A shy, small smile appeared on her face. It was an expression that lightened her heart.
“Ah, to get back on topic, I think you should continue with your current character as it is. If you were to change it now, you might only retain about half of the number of fans that you have since that is what they signed up for. You could end up going through a period of stagnation similar to mine. Moreover, the unique charm that only you have now might disappear, right? Teasing the viewers and being teased by them—that’s what suits you the best.” (Aya)
Being able to speak so accurately about someone else’s situation suggests she has thoroughly analyzed strengths, selling points, and elements that resonate with viewers.
Is she really 18? It was a moment where I couldn’t find words to respond.
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
This reminds me of when Fortnite blew up and every YouTuber switched to playing that because it was easier to grow. I mean, it was a hot trend so it was expected, but seeing my favourite YouTuber ditch their previous game for Fortnite makes me have mixed feelings.
Thanks for the chapter!
Ayaya is a reincarnation confirmed lol