The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 34-35

Chapter 34: How to Become Popular

“I’m back!”

After returning from the Ashida household, I quickly bought ingredients for dinner and came home.

Today, it’s rare—no one came to greet me. Usually, it’s Rinmei or Sayaka who would show up, but…

“Well, there are days like this too.”

Thinking that way, I took off my shoes, stepped into the entryway, and headed into the living room.

“No one’s here either?”

I couldn’t help but wonder…I thought someone would be around.

“It’s too early to start cooking…maybe I should run a bath?”

…Yeah, let’s do that. I dropped the dinner ingredients on the counter and went to the bathroom from the living room.

I’d just bought some new bath salts, so maybe I’ll try them out…Thinking that, I opened the bathroom door.

“Huh?”

“…Huh?”

In this case, I admit it was my fault. But please, let me explain.

…I didn’t expect Kanna and the others to be in the bath at this hour.

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

After that, I don’t remember much. But there’s one thing I can say for sure.

Women’s bodies…are much more delicate compared to men’s.

◇

“I’m really, truly sorry.”

Currently, I am kneeling and apologizing in front of the three.

When I glance up, I see that Kanna is trying to stay calm, but her ears are burning bright red, while Sayaka still has swirling eyes and her whole face is flushed. Rinmei seems better…wait, no, she’s avoiding eye contact. Looks like this is serious.

“Um…well, accidents like this can happen when living together. So…there’s no need to worry about it.”

“Th-thank you…”

“But, um, it’s better to follow some steps for things like this…”

Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear that risky comment from Kanna.

“E-Eiji, you’re…a guy after all?”

“Sayaka?”

“N-no! I just…I thought Eiji wasn’t interested in that kind of thing…But, I guess you are…Eiji also…likes…”

“Sayaka, calm down. Your mind’s turning pink.”

Her reaction was an obvious flinch.

What should I do? Now I’ve given Sayaka the wrong idea. Wait, but…is it actually fine? If she sees me as a man, maybe we’ll have a more appropriate distance…Is this okay?

“…Eiji.”

“Y-yeah?”

“It’s alright…I’ll accept you, no matter what.”

…No, this is bad. She’s completely misunderstanding.

“…Anyway, let’s talk about this some other time.”

Kanna wrapped things up, and the other two nodded, but…am I really in the wrong here?

“So, Eiji, did you need something from us?”

“Ah, no, not really…”

…Actually, since all three of them are here, it’s the perfect time to talk.

“There’s something I want to discuss with the three of you.”

“???”

The three tilted their heads in unison as I began explaining about Able Corporation.

◇

“I see…So that’s what it’s about.”

“Yes. That’s why I need your help…Could you lend me your strength?”

As I said this, Kanna glanced at the other two.

“…You two. You know what your answer should be, right?”

“Yes…You don’t even need to ask.”

“…Of course.”

They communicated with just a nod, then turned to me with smiles.

“Of course, we’ll help.”

“R-really?”

I was stunned by their immediate answer. They were so against it before…

“It’s for our own sake too, right? There’s no reason to refuse.”

“I agree. I’d normally help you anyway, Eiji, but this sounds fun.”

“…Yeah. I also want more people to hear my singing…”

“Everyone…thank you so much.”

Even though I’m asking for such a big favor, they’re accepting it so readily…I really can’t thank them enough.

“But, for this to work, we need to become even more popular.”

“Well, sure, but how do we even do that? I don’t know how to gain popularity…”

“…Update every day…Consistency is key.”

“Y-yeah, that’s true, but…if only there were an easier way to get popular…”

Becoming more popular…Normally, it’d be tough. But…

“There is. A simple way to get noticed.”

“Huh…Eiji, what is it?”

Luckily, we have some people here with decent followings online. They might be from different genres, but still, if we do this right…

“A collaboration stream.”

“Collaboration?”

The three tilted their heads again, but I’m confident.

No matter what form it takes…a collaboration between these three is sure to go viral.

—

Chapter 35: Slow-Paced Streamer Liana

“…A collaboration stream, you say?”

Kanna managed to voice her thoughts.

“Yes. With that, we can quickly boost popularity. Besides, the three of you already have a lot of subscribers, so your recognition will grow even more.”

“…A collaboration stream, huh? We talked about doing one together someday.”

“…Yeah. We said we’d do it when we became more popular…I made you all wait so long…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Rinmei. The time has come now, hasn’t it?”

The three of them discussed it, then turned to face me.

“Eiji, about the collaboration stream…Can we think about it and plan it ourselves?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you so much for everything.”

“What are you saying? There’s no need to apologize…If anything, we should be thanking you.”

As she said that, Sayaka and Rinmei smiled as they faced me.

“That’s right. We didn’t have much leeway back then, so we completely forgot about the collaboration stream.”

“…And thanks to you, Eiji, I’ve become popular…I’m really grateful.”

“You two…”

“…That’s how it is, Eiji. Once again, thank you for moving things forward for our sake…I’m really happy.”

When Kanna said that, her expression…was dazzling. Sayaka and Rinmei’s faces also lit up, following her lead.

“Hehe! Alright, Kanna, Rinmei! Let’s start thinking about what kind of stream we’ll do! I can’t wait!”

“…Yeah. A singing stream would be great…It’s bound to go viral.”

“If that’s the case, how about a horror game that’s been trending recently? It’s got action too, so it’ll be fun.”

“…That sounds good too. It seems fun.”

“H-h-h-h-hold on!! Why are you talking about doing a horror game?! I’m absolutely against it!!”

From there, they got wrapped up in talking about the collaboration stream, and it seemed like they weren’t paying attention to anything else around them…

(…They look like they’re having so much fun…I’ll make sure not to get in the way.)

With that thought in mind, I watched the three of them happily discussing as I prepared dinner.

◇

Later that night, after finishing my tasks, I opened my computer and started watching a certain video.

On the screen, a character that looked like a little bun was doing a game commentary.

“…Hmm, it’s better than before, isn’t it?”

I mumbled my thoughts after watching the video.

Despite being in a niche where it’s hard to stand out, this person had managed to create their own unique style, and the pacing was good. The only downside might be that the video was a bit long…but that could also be part of its charm. That would be my only advice.

Thinking that, I decided to message her.

Eiji: Liana, I watched your video. The pacing was better than before. If you could shorten the video a bit, it would be even better.

After sending the message and putting my phone down…I immediately received a notification.

Liana: …Please don’t call me that. I don’t want my senior to use that name.

Eiji: Huh? Was that not okay??

Liana: You always call me by my real name. Why are you suddenly using my online name? Are you an idiot?

Eiji: Did you have to go that far? Sorry, sorry. I’ll use your real name…Yuna.

Smiling wryly at her usual sharp tongue, I continued messaging her.

Her real name is Andou Yuna. She works at Brittia while also making videos. Since she’s in the popular “Yukkuri” genre, her number of subscribers is about the same as Rinmei’s.

Yuna: Hmm…So you think I should shorten the video?

Eiji: Yeah. If possible, try to make it around 10 minutes, or 15 minutes at the longest. That would make it easier to watch with good pacing. Other than that, I think it’s great.

Yuna: …Got it. I’ll try my best.

That seemed to be the end of our conversation…but then I got another notification.

Yuna: …Are you sure everything’s really okay? I’m still really anxious.

Ah…She’s talking about that.

Eiji: Yeah, things are going smoothly. Yuna, just keep posting your videos as usual and you’ll be fine.

Yuna: Is that really true? I’m trusting you. I’ve dedicated the rest of my life to you, you know?

Eiji: Ahaha…That’s a heavy responsibility.

I couldn’t help but grimace at her words. Well, it’s understandable. After all, dedicating your life to someone isn’t something people normally do…It’s pretty impressive that she’s willing to go that far.

Yuna: …It’s because I trust you.

Eiji: What?

Yuna: Nothing. Anyway, I just need to keep posting videos, right?

After that message, one of her previous messages disappeared. Huh? Was that something she didn’t want me to see?

Yuna: Well, I have work tomorrow, so I’ll head to bed now.

Eiji: Got it. Thanks for chatting this late. Good night.

Yuna: Good night.

After she sent a cute little sticker, our conversation finally ended.

“…Alright, I’ve got my own preparations to take care of.”

I turned back to my computer, ready to pull an all-nighter and finish my work.