My Childhood Friend Who Was Doing Personal V-Tubing Got Ntr’d by a Singer (LOL), but I’ve Decided to Just Sit Back and Watch the Two of Them Roll Down the Hill of Life and Fall Into Ruin - Chapter 19: The Childhood Friend Who Cheats Somehow Self-Destructs Immediately

Chapter 19: The Childhood Friend Who Cheats Somehow Self-Destructs Immediately

The exchanges with Ren and Kirara turned out to be meaningful for us three, and we learned a lot. However, I wondered why they would go out of their way for kids like us who had no connection at all, so when I casually asked about it, they said it was because various things had happened, their motivation for V activities had dropped, and they were wondering if they could keep going, so they thought it might serve as a change of pace. I had assumed that being top-tier in personal V’s meant life was all smooth sailing, but apparently adults have their own troubles, I thought while listening to their stories.

At the farewell when we wrapped up, Ren and Kirara warned us:

“You must not become like Masao.”

They drove that point home, but honestly, becoming like Masao would be a high bar in the opposite way, and I could only give a wry smile at the thought that no one would aim to turn into a human scum like that.

After that, since Mom wanted to meet the kids in the V group too, I invited Kusaka and Asakura over to the house and we talked about various things, which apparently sparked her inspiration, and Mom’s brush got into the groove, successfully completing the V designs.

The “Kaiza Ex” in a black-and-gold goth loli dress, and the snake charmer “Ono Benomu” in an ethnic outfit based on purple. Both were works into which Mom had poured her soul. When we showed them off within our circle, Tate and Yoko exchanged glances as if pondering something, but

“You’ll understand eventually… eventually.”

They said that and didn’t explain at the time.

On top of that, I didn’t forget to have Shuko-chan pass on our renewed thanks to the people behind Ren and Kirara via her.

I also finished the Live2D work, and the debut first post ended up going viral right from the start thanks to Kirara and Ren quoting and spreading the tweets, so the “Ex and Benomu’s Outsider Channel” quickly overtook Hime Neko in channel subscriber count in no time.

In response to the unexpected cheer from Ren and Kirara, I also worked diligently on the editing, and the channel’s subscriber count grew steadily.

Ex and Benomu, or rather Kusaka and Asakura’s talk, mainly consisted of everyday chit-chat and game play, with Ex’s serious approach of progressing through the game properly contrasting the two’s wild plays done on instinct and feel, turning it into something where you could empty your head and laugh uproariously. The conversation content wasn’t scripted or anything; it was just the two of them being themselves.

Also, since Ex’s avatar was a big-breasted beauty but she kept going into critical condition from Benomu’s (Asakura’s) oblivious big-b00bs talk every time, the PAD teasing exploded into a staple at breakneck speed, helping establish the character, which I think accounted for part of the popularity. You end up feeling a poignant apology toward the flowing PAD comments~.

And around the time Hime Neko got double the subscriber count, with great anticipation? What Tate and Yoko had prepared was 3D models for “Ex” and “Bennomu.” Tate and Yoko are too competent; it makes me LOL!!!

While studying how to move the 3D models with advice from Tate and Yoko, and enjoying fulfilling days every day—in the midst of that—it happened.

To be frank, since I was purely having so much fun with Ex and Benomu’s activities that I had completely forgotten about Hime Neko and paid her no mind, her channel subscriber growth stalled, and on top of that, her hangers-on started drifting away, so she began shifting to a sexy route.

If it becomes a topic, that draws people, and with people gathering, it draws even more people.
It might be unfair to compare Himeko, who’s doing it solo, with us who are doing it as a team, but that’s just how it is. But for a minor to leave behind that kind of digital tattoo is reckless, you idiot; what the hell is that moron doing, I thought, clutching my head.

Wearing high-exposure clothes or using aggressive camera angles was a bit off-putting. I could sense Himeko’s own impatience in it, but that approach was a bad move.

Especially, female listeners don’t take well to that sexy route. It ends up catering only to male listeners with ulterior motives, so in the long term, fans hit a ceiling (as Ren and Kirara had said).

And then, as if with great anticipation, Himeko said, “Actually, I was doing a somewhat famous V.”

“Now, due to circumstances, I was forced to retire from V.”
“Someday, I intend to talk about that in detail.”

And so on, started dropping hints during the stream. …As expected, Himeko had intended to dredge up the Asher matter after all.

—And then, without much interval after that, Himeko’s, or rather Hime Neko’s, account was frozen.

It ended so anticlimactically that it was deflating, but apparently it got caught by the rules due to increasing the exposure and such.

Ahh, told you so—well, I didn’t say it, but. That’s why doing unnecessary stuff gets your account banned. If she had stuck to the conventional laid-back high school girl talk route while touching on the Asher thing, it might have been a bit more trouble to deal with.

I figured she’d mess something up, but then she high-speed self-destructed and attained Buddhahood before it even started, oh Himeko….

Even after that, Hime Neko Channel II, Hime Neko V3, and such, she would slightly change the name and try to revive only to get banned. No matter how many times she got banned, she would try to resurrect in an unsightly way, but since she’s probably flagged as a person of interest, I think it’s impossible.

“Tak-kun, why does Hime Neko keep dying right away?”

Asakura said something like that to me, but for the time being, I replied, “Because she’s still a kid.”

And so, with all that, Himeko had completely self-destructed, but our new V activities were going smoothly, and even without Himeko, everyone was having fun doing it together. The V had been set up as a position to check Himeko while doubling as that, but now, purely building up the V activities with everyone was fun.

On the other hand, Hime Neko stood out for the bad reasons from repeatedly getting banned and reviving, and she started getting buzz in the scene like, “Isn’t this the girl who was with Masao, voice-wise?”

“No, isn’t it the retired Asher?”

The equation Hime Neko (retired V) = the girl who was with Masao = Asher started spreading as a hypothesis, but it was a perfect match, LOL. See? I told you otaku’s defective absolute pitch is amazing.

Completely spot-on, and perhaps fearing that if she surfaced any more, the pursuit would reach her, Hime Neko finally gave up on reincarnation and revival, and at last, disappeared from the net sea.

During the Hime Neko times, casually saying she was a former retired V and such extra stuff turned out to be fatal, huh. She probably meant it as a tease, but saying that is bound to get you identified, right.
There’s no doubt she panicked from getting her topics stolen by Ex and Benomu or having some fans peeled away, but to think Himeko alone would leave such loose ends, I could only look on with distant eyes.

Himeko, you’ve got no place left anywhere…. A pheasant that doesn’t cry won’t get shot—namu. Or whatever.