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? - 5

Chapter 5: Long Story Short, VTubers Are Amazing After All

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“Sorry! I barely made it in time~!”

Kurama-san’s energetic voice echoed through the studio.

“Too bad, one more minute and I would’ve won.”

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to actually make it on time for the recording.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, if Toudou-san, who has no sense of direction, and Ōno-san, who’s even worse, were coming, you’d expect them to be late, right?”

“Fufuun. Starting today, we’ve got a trainee helping us out. So, we won’t be late anymore.”

“That’s great to hear.”

“That reaction is way too flat!”

While Kurama-san cheerfully chatted with the staff, I glanced around the recording studio facilities, taking everything in for the first time.

“You’re the new trainee, right? Is this your first time at a studio?”

A kind-looking man wearing glasses asked me.

“Yes. It’s amazing. It’s bigger than I expected. It feels like a radio studio.”

“Haha, yeah. That’s a good comparison.”

“By the way, what song is Kurama-san going to sing?”

“It’s a song that’s been getting a lot of attention lately called Akane. It suits her image, and she herself requested to sing it.”

“I see…”

I plugged my earphones into my phone and closed my eyes, deciding to listen to the song. Back when I was a corporate slave, I didn’t have time to keep up with anything outside of current events… I needed to catch up on trends properly now.

Akane was apparently a love song written and composed by a famous Vocaloid producer.

『Though I can’t see your face bathed in crimson light, you turned and ran with a smile meant for someone else.』

It seemed the chorus lyrics especially resonated with young people.

“This is a good song.”

“Right!?”

“Huh?”

I hadn’t expected Kurama-san to answer, and I took a step back in surprise.

“Did I startle you? You looked really focused while listening.”

“N-No, I’m fine.”

I still wasn’t used to being near women… I’d need to get used to it quickly since I’d be working with a female Vtuber group…

“This song is about a romantic relationship between a guy and a girl, right? But I’ve never been in love before, so I’m kinda worried if I can sing it well.”

“Huh… Is that so?”

With her personality, I would’ve thought she’d have no shortage of suitors…

“Ah, you didn’t expect that, did you?”

“Well… Even if you’ve never dated, I thought at least you’d have had feelings for someone.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t. Boys are kinda childish in middle school, right? And in high school I went to an all-girls school, so there were no chances for me to get into romance or anything like that.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“What about you, Hiori-kun? Have you ever dated someone?”

At that moment, a certain memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

—Hey, isn’t it okay if we go this far?

—Ahaha, you’re crying.

—So pathetic. Come on, pull yourself together already.

“…No, I don’t have any experience like that.”

I muttered, half to myself, trying not to dwell on it.

“I see. Well, I’m off to the recording booth!”

“Yes. Good luck.”

With that, Kurama-san headed into the recording booth.

“Was that okay? She was standing pretty close to you.”

Senpai said to me as we crossed paths.

“Yeah, my heart was pounding.”

I answered, half-serious, half-joking.

“More importantly, Kurama-san’s recording is about to start. Now I’m the one getting nervous.”

“Come to think of it, you haven’t heard her singing voice yet, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Her voice is one of the top two most popular in HoloEco. Make sure to listen closely.”

He handed me a pair of headphones.

“I get to hear it now, huh…”

“Alright, it’s starting.”

As a slightly tense atmosphere settled in, the intro to the song began.

“Though I can’t see your face bathed in crimson light—”

Just from that one phrase, her talent came through clearly. Her expressive power and singing technique were on par with a professional. Even as an amateur, I was completely blown away by her voice.

“This is… Incredible.”

“Haha… Right?”

Senpai and I watched the recording in silence.

“『You always looked like the sun to me』 I said, opening the conversation. The sunset on your back burned itself into my heart.”

As I kept listening, the imagery in the lyrics became more and more vivid—until…

“The riverside on the way home is wrapped in silence. Though I can’t see your face bathed in crimson light, you ran off with a smile.”

Suddenly, something twisted unnaturally.

“…Huh?”

Kurama-san’s singing hadn’t changed. Nothing had changed. And yet… Something felt off.

“…Alright! Let’s do a quick check!”

Still carrying that strange sense of unease, the first take of the recording ended.

“Fuii, this really is hard.”

“Nice job. Here, have some water.”

“Thanks, Ōno-san.”

Even as Kurama-san drank her water, I kept thinking about that sense of dissonance. 

Why? The world within the song had been perfect until just now. And yet it suddenly felt distorted. What was wrong? The song and Kurama-san’s voice were a good match. There was no disconnect between the performance and the song’s image. So why did it sound so warped?

“…Hiori-kun, is there something on my face?”

“Eh? Ah, n-no, it’s nothing.”

As I stared at Kurama-san while thinking, she suddenly spoke up, startling me.

“…Did my singing not come across well?”

“No! Not at all!”

I accidentally raised my voice, drawing attention from those around me.

“Ah… S-sorry.”

I lowered my voice and turned to Kurama-san again.

“From what I can tell, Kurama-san’s strengths lie in your delicate phrasing and strong long tones. And those definitely suit the song. But what I thought was…”

I tried to put into words the image I had while she was singing.

“It’s just… In the chorus, the imagery suddenly gets distorted, like… It’s being sung from someone else’s point of view or something?”

“Someone else’s point of view?”

“…If the sun is behind them, why can’t the singer see the person’s face?”

“Huh… Oh, you’re right. It’s a riverside, so nothing should be blocking the view… Maybe they were looking down?”

“If that’s the case, then sure, their expression wouldn’t be visible, but I’m pretty sure—”

I pulled up the lyrics again to double-check.

“Whoa… This is something you might miss if you weren’t looking closely…”

“What is?”

“This song is based on a short story. The writer originally posted it on a novel-sharing website.”

“You’re right… Huh, interesting. So?”

“Well, in the story, the heroine has pretty short hair, so it’s unlikely her face would be hidden.”

“Hm, that makes sense… Wait, then whose point of view is this song from?”

“…In the story, there’s a male student who persistently follows the heroine around.”

“…Whoa, this song is a lot darker than I thought.”

“I didn’t expect it to be a twisted stalker love song instead of a pure romance…”

“Now that I know, I think I can really sing it right. Engineer-saaan!”

Without missing a beat, Kurama-san turned to the engineer—the heart of the recording session—to convey her new image of the song.

“Ah…”

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this. This song had already been covered by many singers and VTubers, and the image of “pure love” was firmly established. This reinterpretation, which would completely flip that image, could be risky—it might even spark backlash even.

“But still…”

Even the engineer looked visibly troubled by the sudden request for change.

“Please. I can only sing it with this image in mind now.”

But Kurama-san wouldn’t back down, keeping her head bowed in a deep bow.

“…Alright, let’s try one take. If it seems like it’ll work, we’ll go with it.”

“-! Thank you so much!”

“Ōno-san, are you okay with this?”

“Hm? Ah, yeah. Our talents usually come up with their own concepts and handle their own production. So it’s fine.”

“So it’s kind of like OurTubers, huh?”

OurTubers are people who post videos on OurTube, the world’s largest video platform.

By the way, they’ve recently topped the list of “most desired careers among kids”—though technically it’s not considered a real job but more of a hobby (fun fact).

“…Alright! Let’s go with this interpretation!”

“Got it… Man, what a crazy bet we’ve just made.”

Ah, the engineer was holding his head in perplexion now. In contrast, Kurama-san was striding confidently into the booth.

“Well, having the freedom to do things their way—that’s the kind of environment that brings out the full potential of creators like her. Just watch, Ren. This’ll give you goosebumps.”

And then, Toudou-san, who was inside the booth, put on her headphones and stepped up to the mic, ready to deliver the first line.

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