I Joined the Agency as a Manager to Support a Vtuber, but Somehow I Ended up Becoming the Face of the Company as an Official Staff Member?

(ง'̀-'́)ง Please rate this novel 5★ on NovelUpdates!

Chapter 22: The Trauma Returns

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

When I was a child, I was lonely. I always clung to my mother or father, and my aunts and uncles would often tease me for it.

After entering elementary school, I often tried to go along with everyone else so I wouldn’t be left alone. Even when everyone was buying character straps from an anime, I actually liked a different supporting character, but I went along with the main character that everyone liked.

After starting middle school, the social hierarchy among the girls began to form, and that pressure only became stronger. It’d be a lie to say that constantly conforming to others was easy. Hiding what I really wanted to do and what I really liked, and forcing myself to go along with others… I ended up suppressing my heart.

As a result, I transferred to a correspondence high school during the summer of my first year, and spent most of my time holed up in my room. During that time, what became my emotional support was the video streaming site OurTube. I was especially captivated by the people doing live streams.

I was deeply moved by how they showcased their talk skills, gaming skills, their talents, and what they loved. On the screen, listeners would gather around the streamer’s “likes,” forming a kind of flock.

They’d say things like, “I love this part of that character,” or “This part of the game is so fun.” And the listeners didn’t all blindly agree either—they’d offer their own opinions, like “This part’s fun too,” or “There are other good characters as well.”

There was no hierarchy—just a conversation that felt like it was between longtime friends. I admired that atmosphere. Supported by those streamers, I graduated high school and entered university. At the same time, I applied for the HoloEco talent audition.

A friend once told me I had a cute voice, and more than anything, I wanted to express my “likes” through the still-growing culture of VTubers. I was nervous during the audition, but I somehow passed and debuted as a member of HoloEco’s 1st Generation: Sui Unabara.

The name was just a rearrangement of my real name, but since I wanted to connect with all sorts of listeners like the vast open sea, I felt it was the perfect fit and came to really like it. And then, my long-awaited debut stream. I made two promises to the listeners, who were still few at the time.

『Don’t deny what I do. If you come to dislike me, just stop watching.』

『Remember that I and the listeners are equals—we respect each other.』

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

“How exactly are you going to eliminate the problematic fans?”

“About that… Actually, if we go through with it, it won’t just be me. Hiori-kun, you might get caught up in the flames too. Is that okay with you?”

“Isn’t that something you should’ve said up front? Well, it’s fine, I guess.”

“It is!?”

“If it’ll help resolve the talent’s controversy, then whatever. But if you use me, won’t that just make things worse?”

“Yeah, that’s the scary part. So I want you to play the role of a reporter at a serious apology press conference. I want your help to clearly show that I’m not going to give in to toxic fans. I want to firmly express my intent to reject them.”

“I see. In that case, I guess it’s okay?”

“I already got the go-ahead from Manager-chan and Ikejun. If you’re fine with it too, then let’s get started, okay?”

“Wait—uh, what about the script?”

“There is no script~”

“There isn’t!?”

I couldn’t help shouting, and Sunabara-san laughed brightly, like the sound of bells rolling.

“Just kidding, just kidding. I’d like you to pick lines from the flaming comments on Vitter.”

“Ah, that makes sense. There are people angrily asking questions there.”

“Right. Can you read them in a heckling tone?”

“Got it.”

After that, we worked out the general flow and moved on to recording.

With the sound of a free-use camera flash sound effect, Sunabara/Unabara-san’s avatar appeared on a free-use press conference background.

“I sincerely apologize for my careless remarks that led to a male employee getting caught up in a controversy.”

She then explained in detail what had happened during training, and the Q&A session began. This was where my role started.

“This is Kowarabe from Unicorn Newspaper. What are your thoughts on your future relationships with male employees? Also, is your manager definitely a woman?”

“They just feel like regular company staff to me. Also, my Manager-chan is a woman.”

“This is Horaniwa from Virgin Emperor News. I believe all staff who interact with talents should be female. What’s your opinion on that?”

“I think that’s impossible. I don’t even know if there are enough female employees capable of managing every talent and preparing the studios.”

I continued reading off a few more question-style comments in the tone of a reporter, and Unabara-san responded to each one.

“Well, our time is about up. That concludes—”

As planned, Unabara-san started to wrap things up, but I decided to go off-script here.

“Ah, excuse me—may I ask one last question?”

“Eh? Uh, sure. Go ahead.”

“Earlier, you said you’ll continue your activities. So, who do you want to watch your streams going forward?”

“Eh…”

Unabara-san looked at me in confusion.

“Please cut what I’m about to say. …Unabara-san, I actually watched your debut stream. Could you share with everyone the one thing you most wanted your listeners to understand?”

“…Yeah!”

“All right, here we go. Who do you want to watch your streams going forward?”

“Yes. I want people who support my ‘likes,’ and who will share in the things I love, to watch my streams.”

Recording finished. I think it went pretty well. I just hope the listeners understand what we were trying to do. As I was thinking that, Sunabara-san came over with a somewhat refreshed look on her face.

“Hiori-kun, thank you for asking that question at the end.”

“No, I hope your passion came through. It might’ve been a bit forceful, though.”

“No, that’s exactly what was needed. Problematic fans stick like super glue. You’ve gotta be that firm with them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

I turned my back to leave the room.

“Ah, wait a second!”

Just then, Sunabara-san reached out and grabbed me from behind, as if she still had something to say.

『Wait! Just hold it right there!』

That instant, an unwelcome memory—one I had buried deep in my mind—came surging back.

“…!”

“Kyah!?”

Without thinking, I violently brushed off Sunabara-san’s hand.