The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 26

It’s been a few weeks since Rinmei’s song was uploaded.

She followed my advice and re-uploaded the songs she had sung before, and as a result, her name—Scarlet—quickly became well-known.

Among her songs, Blue Marine made a big impact online once again. The combination of her voice and the song’s melody has led the music video to amass an incredible 78 million views in just a few weeks.

Scarlet also became a hot topic in Japan, and now, she’s a streamer with over 500,000 subscribers.

“…Hey, Sayaka-chan. Are you really going to do this? Are you okay?”

Right now, someone is sitting in front of the screen, drenched in sweat, eager to not lose to Rinmei.

“I-I-I-I’m f-fine!! It’s just a game, right?? Why would I be scared of something like this!?”

“…Your face is pale, and you’re holding my hand really tight, though.”

It looks like it’s going to leave a mark.

Yes, right now, I’m playing a horror game with Sayaka-chan.

To avoid losing to Rinmei, she finally decided to play a horror game she had avoided until now for her stream.

However, she said she didn’t have the courage to play alone in a dark room, so to get used to it, we’re practicing by playing the game together.

…And I’ve been dragged into this with her.

“Ugh…It’s so scary…Eiji-saaan…”

“Uh…You don’t have to force yourself to play, you know?”

“Ugh…Honestly, I’d love to run away right now, but for some reason, I feel like if I give up here, I’ll lose to Rinmei…And I can’t let that happen…”

She said this as she shakily clicked the mouse.

“Eek!”

“…The game hasn’t even started yet.”

…Is this really okay? She played with Kanna-san before during her stream…

◇

“…Hey, Kanna? Are we really going to play this? Isn’t it supposed to be super scary?”

“What’s wrong, Yusune? Are you scared?”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Oh, come on, don’t try to act tough. It’s just a simple horror game where you click the mouse a few times to win.”

“But the effects were really intense, weren’t they? H-Hey, Kanna? Why are you starting the game on your own…?!”

…I still remember screaming from how terrifying it was.

◇

…Kanna-san back then didn’t flinch at all. Now I understand why she doesn’t usually stream horror games.

The game we’re playing this time is less scary than the one Kanna-san played, but…

“…E-Eiji-san…C-Can you press the button for me…? I don’t have the courage…”

…I’m not great with horror games either, but I don’t think I’m as terrified as she is.

“Okay, I’ll press the button at the start, but after that, you’ll have to do it, okay? Otherwise, it won’t mean much.”

“O-Okay…But wait! I’m not ready yet! Click Wahhh!!!”

…Do people scream just from the background music?

“See? You just need to click to clear the game, so do your best.”

“Ugh…Eiji-san…Hold my hand…”

“…I’m already holding it, you know.”

If I said I needed to go to the bathroom right now, she’d probably hate me for life.

“…Okay…I-I’ll keep going now.”

She clicked the mouse a few more times.

The setting seems to be mainly inside a train.

As the days go by, the surroundings get stranger and stranger. It’s a horror game filled with simple jump scares.

“Hey, did you notice something weird about that old man just now? His eyes were red, weren’t they?”

“That’s pretty common, isn’t it?”

“That’s not normal at all!! Regular people don’t have red eyes—screams!!”

The old man with red eyes turned toward us. It felt like he wasn’t looking at the protagonist, but at us, the players.

“Hurry up and move!! Don’t look at him!! Don’t look at me!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! I apologize for everything!!”

…Is this really okay?

“Eiji-san…”

“…It’s still the beginning, so let’s keep going.”

“No way…This is just the beginning…?”

——And then, various strange and terrifying events started happening to us…Well, mostly to Sayaka-chan.

“Ahhhh! Haah…Haah…!! Th-the girl disappeared, and now, there’s a face…in the window!!”

At one point, she freaked out at the sight of a girl’s face reflected in the window.

“Hey, doesn’t this seem weird? Why is it looking at us—ahhhh!! The mouth! It’s splitting open!! Hide it!! Cover that mouth!!”

At another point, she screamed at a woman with a slit mouth who reminded us of the urban legend.

“This is where they’ll try to scare us with that old man, right? I can tell. He’s going to pop up, right? If he’s coming, just get it over with—crunch…See, I told you! His neck just twisted! That’s not gonna work on me!!”

“…But you’re gripping my hand really tightly.”

“I-it’s fine! Don’t point that out!! Aaaahhh!!! That’s not fair!! Sneak attacks are cheating!!”

——It’s been less than an hour, and Sayaka-chan has already reached her limit. But somehow, the game is approaching the final stage.

“Did the woman turn into a ghost? Why is she transparent? I get it, she’s going to try to scare me again—Aaaahhh!!! Seriously!? That’s not fair!! The old man again!! Haah…Haah…”

“You’re almost done, so hang in there.”

“O-okay…But look at the sky! It’s turning red! And the train is falling apart—crash! Aaaahh!!! The glass broke!! Everyone’s staring at me!! What is this? Did my time finally come? I don’t need all this attention!!”

“I think something big is coming next.”

“E-Eiji-san, what do you mean by that? Don’t say something so ominous!! You’re kidding, right? Stop joking!! See? Now something’s coming!! If you’re coming, then come on!! I’ve been scared enough already, nothing can—Aaaaahhhhh!!!!”

As the character on the screen rushed toward us, Sayaka-chan let out the loudest scream yet. And finally, the horror game came to an end. Sort of safely.

◇

“Ugh…Hic…I-I’m scared…Waaaahhh…”

“S-Sayaka-chan? Are you okay? That was really scary, right?”

“Ugh…I have to play something even scarier tomorrow, don’t I?”

“…Yeah. It’ll probably be ten times scarier than this.”

“Waaaahhh!! I’m scared!!”

…She’s crying now, clinging to me. Even Kanna and Rinmei, who had been watching from a distance, didn’t know what to do.

“…Eiji-san…Can you sleep with me tonight…?”

“Uh, but that’s not really…”

I glanced over at the other two…Hmm, this is a tough situation.

“…Is it no good?”

She looked up at me with teary eyes, and for some reason, I felt guilty.

“U-uh…Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea for just the two of us, so how about we all sleep together?”

“…Okay…Hic…Let’s do that.”

“Kanna-san, Rinmei, is that okay with you?”

“…Yeah, I guess there’s nothing else we can do.”

“…Poor Sayaka…Tomorrow’s game will be even scarier…”

“Waaaaaahhh!!”

——And so, Sayaka-chan…or rather, Tenharu Aoi’s live horror game stream continued onto the next day.