The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 23

“…Eiji-san?”

“…Yes.”

It happened just after Rinmei woke up. Right now, Kanna-san has made me sit in a proper seiza position.

“I saw yesterday’s video…what was that all about?”

“Uh, well, it just sort of…happened in the moment…”

The video she’s referring to is Sayaka-chan’s live stream from yesterday. And Kanna-san is talking about how I ended up appearing in it.

“Eiji-san? I don’t mind if you appear in my videos, but you can’t just show up in others’. Besides, that girl has a lot of fans, you know? What if something had happened?”

She’s absolutely right. I’ve been involved in a lot of videos lately, and I realize I’ve gotten a bit careless.

“S-Sorry, Kanna-sa—”

“Kanna-san, you’re in no position to criticize others, are you?”

“…Sa-Sayaka-chan?”

For some reason, Sayaka-chan, who was eating the breakfast we prepared earlier, is now sitting beside me and arguing with Kanna-san.

“I’m fine with it! I am! I mean, Eiji-san is mine to begin with!! So why did you let him appear in your stream without my permission?!”

“That’s already been settled! Eiji-san belongs to everyone!! …Though, ideally, I’d like him to be mine…but anyway! Why is it okay for you and not for me? And what’s with YUSUKE? I’ve always thought your naming sense is way too simple!”

“Ugh…that…that doesn’t matter! You’re just as bad! Why do you still call him Eiji?!”

“I’m fine with it~. From the start, I’ve always talked about Eiji-san plenty. All the fans already know, so it’s no big deal!”

“Grrr…”

“Grrr…”

…Somehow, I’m confused, watching this sibling-like quarrel unfold when it was supposed to be a scolding session for me.

“…Maybe I’ll have Eiji appear in a video too…”

Uh, Rinmei? If you do that, those two will get even angrier…and their fight might escalate even more, so let’s not do that, okay?

This is bad. If this keeps going, things are going to escalate…

“…Let’s stop them for now, Rinmei.”

“…I think it’s fine to leave them be.”

“N-No, just in case, alright?”

“…Got it.”

Though she looked reluctant, she agreed to help me, and after some time, we managed to calm the two of them down.

◇

Today’s a weekday, so Sayaka-chan is at school, and Kanna-san had some errands, so she’s out right now. Rinmei is still at home practicing her singing.

I was singing with her earlier, but now I’m taking a short break and sitting in front of the computer.

“…As I thought.”

I was watching a certain video and became sure of something.

(…Rinmei’s voice isn’t fully shining through in the video.)

The songs posted on Scarlet’s channel are all great. But her actual singing far surpasses them.

“Her voice is strangely edited, and the video quality is poor…Could it be…”

Is it possible that Rinmei’s vocal potential isn’t being realized because of this video editing and the outdated equipment?

“Now that I think about it, that old computer and mic…they’re all ancient.”

Everything she’s been using is so worn out…I see now.

“…Eiji?”

“? Rinmei? You’re here?”

“…Yeah. I’m taking a little break.”

As she says this, she sits next to me and finishes off a bottle of water.

“…What are you doing?”

“Hm? Ah, I was listening to your singing, Rinmei.”

“…My singing?”

“Yeah. I noticed something felt off today, so I did a comparison.”

“…Was I…bad?”

Even though her expression hasn’t changed, I can tell she’s feeling sad. No, it’s not that…

“It’s the opposite. You were too good.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The difference between the Rinmei in the video and the Rinmei I heard in person is obvious. The video had some noise and lag, so your voice’s true charm didn’t fully come through.”

In fact, considering all of that, the fact that her channel has more subscribers than most streamers is remarkable.

“…Really?”

“Yeah. If my guess is right…Rinmei, you’ll become an amazing singer.”

“!”

“That’s why I’m going to go out and buy some new equipment. Want to come along?”

“…Eiji, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“…Was my singing…really that good?”

“It was. It was amazing.”

“…Really, really?”

“Really, really.”

“…If I leave it to you…will my singing become even better?”

“It definitely will. I guarantee it.”

“…I see.”

With that, she says, “Wait a moment,” and stands up, heading upstairs.

“…Alright, I’d better make a list of what we need.”

I started listing out what we’d need for the singing videos, jotting down items similar to the old equipment in her room.

“…Sorry for the wait.”

I turned around and saw Rinmei standing there, wearing a white dress.

“…So you’re coming?”

“…Yeah. I can’t just leave everything to you…I’ll come too.”

As she says this, she gently takes my hand in her small, delicate one.

“…I’m glad you were the first person to hear me sing.”

“? Kanna-san and Sayaka-chan haven’t heard you sing?”

“…No, it’s embarrassing…to sing in front of them.”

Ah, I see. That’s why they didn’t notice.

“…In that case, we should let them hear you sing soon.”

“…Honestly…I’m not confident.”

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be there with you.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“…Then…I’ll sing.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“…So let’s hurry and go.”

Smiling slightly, she grips my hand and starts heading toward the entrance, eager to leave.

(…Rinmei seems surprisingly happy right now.)

If it wasn’t just my imagination, her expression seemed a little brighter than usual—like her smile was just a bit wider.