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

Chapter 59: One of the Rookies

A few days after I received a message, I visited my usual coffee shop.

I don’t know why, but it seems this is the best place to talk with someone.

Thinking this, I searched for a seat as usual, and then I spotted a person with distinctive short red hair.

(…According to the information in the DM, her characteristic was short red hair.)

Comparing her to the description, I confirmed it matched.

Then, perhaps she noticed me, as she looked my way and waved.

“Hi, you must be Eiji, right?”

“…That’s correct…Himura Karen.”

As I watched her smile meaningfully, I took a seat across from her.

“I’ve already placed the order, but is that okay?”

“That’s fine.”

…I can’t help but think it’s a bit presumptuous to order something for someone else…

“…I have one thought, though. Despite being a V-tuber, you look quite similar…No, I should say you look almost exactly the same.”

She resembled the V-character so closely that it wouldn’t be strange if she were one.

“Ahaha. Do you think so? But I’m not good at pretending.”

“…If that’s the case, I think you should just do regular YouTube or live streams.”

“I think it’s important to ride the trends. It’s become less common recently, but…the five of us have made our names as rookies in this new era.”

She deepened her smile and stared at me. Without feeling particularly flustered, I returned her gaze.

“By the way, since we already knew each other, we hadn’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Himura Karen. Nice to meet you, Eiji.”

“…I’m Eiji, or Yusuke…Is that your real name?”

“I told you earlier that I’m not good at pretending. That goes for my name too.”

“I don’t think that’s the issue, though…”

…Well, everyone is different, I guess. I thought this and faced her again.

“So, what was that DM about? You suddenly contacted me wanting to meet.”

“Hmm? Did that surprise you? Thank you, I appreciate that feeling.”

“I’m not surprised. I just want to know the reason.”

“…Are you perhaps a bit dry?”

“Unfortunately, I’m a professional. I take pride in being straightforward.”

“Hmm…I see. It’s completely different from the other world.”

Then she showed me a channel screen on her smartphone, waving it around.

“…What’s this?”

“You know, right? Well, it’s the person herself…Eiji?”

“…That’s an old story. I’m not playing that role anymore.”

“Honestly, you’re no fun. If you keep this up, girls won’t like you.”

“I don’t need to be liked. That kind of thing doesn’t suit me.”

I responded with a slight wry smile. In response, she seemed uninterested.

“…Well, whatever. Now that we’ve talked about trivial matters, shall we get to the main topic?”

Saying this, she leaned forward with both hands in front of her. I involuntarily felt my tension rise.

“Hey Eiji…would you like to become my editor?”

“…I would appreciate it if you could explain the reason.”

Caught off guard by her unexpected words, I found myself momentarily speechless but managed to respond calmly.

“See, I recently watched Aoi’s…Sayaka’s cut videos and found them incredibly interesting.”

“…You’re mistaken. I’m not doing anything special.”

“No way, that’s not true. You summarized the long video time into a single cut. The fun, the charm, the pacing…All of that was packed into your cuts.”

Perhaps she was speaking seriously now, as her expression seemed more earnest than before.

“Not only that. Your cut videos…other people do them too, right? For example…Kanna and Scarlet?”

“…Well, that is indeed true.”

“I knew it…You editing has significantly increased their popularity. Plus, the establishment of Able Corporation…a sudden emergence of a prominent streaming group. It feels like a big success.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Like I said before. I want you. I want that talent of yours…I’d love for you to develop it with me.”

…So, it’s about recruiting? I suppose that’s how I should interpret it.

“…I’m sorry, but I have to decline.”

“…Why is that?”

“There’s no particular reason. I’m already part of a group…I can’t just nod along here for their sake.”

“…You’re saying something quite dangerous.”

“It’s the truth. I appreciate the sentiment, but…”

“…Well, that makes sense…I didn’t think it would be easy to take you, so don’t worry.”

Saying this, she took a sip of the drink she ordered through a straw.

“Because of that, I have one more favor to ask.”

“…What is it?”

Then she flashed a refreshing smile and declared,

“I want to do a collaboration stream…with Tenharu Aoi.”

—

Chapter 60: A Strange Change

After my meeting with Karen Himura ended, I drank the rest of my drink and headed home. But when I got there…

“…Sayaka? What are you doing?”

There she was, lying on the sofa, sulking for some reason, while Kanna-san stood by, clearly troubled by the situation.

“…Hmph…Eiji, you idiot.”

“Huh?”

Why was she calling me an idiot as soon as I tried to talk to her?

“Um, Kanna-san? What’s going on here?”

“W-Well, she suddenly started acting like this, and I don’t know why either…”

“…Eiji, you jerk.”

W-What? Why am I getting insulted like this?

“H-Hey, Sayaka. What’s wrong? If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize, so can you talk to me?”

“…”

Sayaka stared at me, her cheeks puffing up in frustration.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but press her puffed-up cheeks with my hands.

“Whoa! W-What are you doing, Eiji?!”

“Well, your cheeks were just asking to be poked.”

“Don’t poke my cheeks for such a silly reason! Geez…”

But even after that, she still turned her face away in a huff, clearly not forgiving me yet.

What a pain…If this keeps up, I won’t get any answers.

“…Why did you meet with Karen?”

“Huh?”

Karen…? How does she know about that?

I was startled by her question, and then Sayaka showed me her phone.

“Karen contacted me…She wrote that she met with the famous ‘Eiji.'”

“Oh…”

So, she went out of her way to tell Sayaka. Should I say she’s considerate or just strange?

“…Eiji, are you going to abandon me?”

“Huh? Why would you even think that?”

Seeing her eyes darken, I couldn’t help but react with confusion.

“B-Because…Karen is more popular than me, she’s more charismatic, and above all…she’s cute…”

“W-Wait, cute?”

“Isn’t she?! That occasional gap in her personality is part of her charm!”

“Uh…I guess that’s how it works?”

“…Am I not good enough?”

Her mood worsened, and she looked like she was about to cry.

“N-No, that’s not what I meant—”

“I know…I know you don’t think that way…But when I compare myself to the other four, I can’t help but feel inferior…I’m scared that someday, you won’t even look at me anymore…I’m just so, so anxious!”

“S-Sayaka? It’s okay. You don’t need to worry. I won’t abandon you, and I’ll never leave you behind.”

“Eiji…”

She said that as she hugged me tightly.

…What’s going on? Sayaka’s been acting strange lately…

“…”

I spent a few minutes trying to comfort her, not even noticing Kanna-san’s complicated expression as she watched us.

◇

“Feeling better now?”

“Y-Yes…I’m sorry.”

Her eyes were still a little red and swollen, but she had calmed down. Kanna-san had left a little earlier, mentioning that she had work to do for Able. It seemed like she had a job to attend to.

“Hey, Sayaka. I know this might not be the right time, but…Karen made you a proposal.”

“…Karen? To me?”

“Yeah…She asked if you’d like to do a collab stream together.”

“!!”

Her face froze in shock, then quickly twisted as if she were biting into something bitter.

“…W-Why would Karen want to do a collab with someone like me?”

“I’m not sure, but she seemed pretty enthusiastic about it.”

“…Eiji, do you know about my relationship with Karen?”

“Huh?”

Sayaka and Karen’s relationship…Oh, now that she mentioned it.

“If I remember correctly, people say you two don’t get along.”

“Yes! Exactly!! That’s why I don’t get it…Why would she suddenly want to collab with me?”