LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 4
“It’s been a while.”
I mumbled this while looking at the apartment in front of me, Nanami’s home. I had just rung the doorbell.
“Such a noisy one.”
It was the morning after Nanami’s stream had ended, and I had planned to relax since it was Sunday. But then, Nanami suddenly called me.
“Anyway! Gather immediately! Okay?!”
That’s why I’m here now, even though it’s quite a trek from my secluded home.
“You’re here!”
“Ah, good morning.”
Nanami greeted me with a high voice as she opened the door, her bangs clipped up, in full home-mode.
“Come in quickly!”
“Whoa!”
Before I knew it, she hastily looked around and pulled me inside.
“What’s up?”
“It’s not ‘what’s up?’!”
“Ah, sorry for intruding.”
I greeted her and followed her to her room.
“Sit here!”
She closed the door and I was immediately seated. Why am I sitting formally?
“You’re too relaxed for this situation!”
“What do you mean?”
“This, this!”
“Hmm?”
I peered at the smartphone Nanami showed me. She scrolled through something that had me wide-eyed in disbelief. My name was all over the internet.
“Why is my name up on the net!?”
What Nanami showed me was the app “Tsubuyaiter,” a kind of social media.
To my surprise, words like “Hikone Hoshi,” “Mysterious F-rank Explorer Hoshi,” “Supernova Hoshi” were trending. They were dominating the trends…
“What does this mean?”
“You really don’t know?”
“I have no idea…”
“I don’t use social media, I’m like a caveman…”
Nanami showed me a video. It was of a boy fighting a Wyvern… that’s me!
“That’s me!”
“That’s what I’ve been saying. This went viral, and now it’s crazy!”
“Ah, that’s why…”
I remembered getting stared at a lot today. It must be because of this.
“So, you were careful at the entrance because of this.”
“Exactly.”
We paused for a moment, and then a wave of anxiety hit me.
“Isn’t this bad?”
“Huh?”
I slumped down, overwhelmed. This must be what they call “doxxing.” I avoided social media for this reason.
“What should I do, Nanami?”
“Calm down!”
“Aah!”
She pushed me away as I clung to her.
“Typical anxiety reaction.”
“A Wyvern seems less scary…”
“That comment would go viral again.”
Nanami looked at me with a mix of amusement and exasperation, but she didn’t abandon me.
“Listen. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“Really? I’m not being exposed?”
“It’s sort of like that… but more like, you’re being praised and getting attention.”
“Really!”
“So naive…”
I brightened up, which she clearly noticed.
“But… it’s a good thing.”
“What do you mean?”
Nanami grinned and said, “You should become a streamer!”
“What!?”
I was taken aback by her unexpected suggestion. But Nanami seemed confident.
“So Hoshi, how was the Wyvern yesterday?”
“It was weak.”
“See, you’re already entertaining.”
“Where!?”
Nanami’s smile grew wider. The world finds this entertaining?
“And you’re looking for a job, right?”
“Yeah, I am.”
I live deep in the mountains, and it takes a while to get to school. A part-time job in town would be too hard, so I had mentioned it to Nanami.
“Streaming is perfect for you.”
“Really?”
I couldn’t help but repeat in disbelief.
“Streaming doesn’t make much money, right?”
“You underestimate streaming culture.”
She looked exasperated, so I asked, “How much do you make?”
Nanami revealed her earnings with a sly smile.
“No way!”
“You’re surprised, huh?”
“Uh… uhh.”
That settled it.
“I’ll stream.”
“Simple-minded, but helpful.”
Nanami seemed to think it was an easy decision.
“Open that cardboard box.”
“This one?”
I rummaged through the box Nanami pointed at.
“Hey, isn’t this…!”
“Right. Streaming equipment.”
It was the camera and microphone like Nanami used for her stream.
“What’s this for?”
“My old stuff. Still works fine.”
“Really? You’re giving it to me?”
“All of it?”
“Yes!”
I couldn’t just accept it with a simple “thanks,” but Nanami blushed slightly.
“Come on! I want to!”
“What? What do you want?”
“I want to stream with you again! As fellow streamers!”
“!”
We couldn’t meet each other’s eyes. Nanami was looking away.
“So we’ll collaborate again! That’s the deal!”
“Okay
…”
Our eyes met briefly, and she looked different from the usual Nanami.
“Let’s start learning. You’re terrible with technology!”
“Please help…”
And so, I was taught by Nanami.
★
“Is this okay?”
I’m standing in front of a floating camera at home.
After returning from Nanami’s house and having lunch, I decided to start streaming right away, as she said, “Strike while the iron is hot.”
“Ugh, I’m nervous…”
I received an encouraging message from Nanami on my phone. Time to give it a try.
“Streaming start!”
I operated the camera as I learned and began the stream. Immediately, comments flooded in.
《He’s here!》
《Wow!》
《The real deal!》
《Saw you yesterday!》
《Hello!》
《Been waiting for this!》
“Whaa!?”
I saw the comments and the number next to them.
“5000 viewers.”
I hadn’t cared about the number when helping Nanami, but 5000 people are watching? Isn’t that amazing?
“But, how did everyone…?”
《From Nanamin’s Tsubuyaiter!》
《Nanami announced it～》
《From Nanami-chan》
“Got it.”
She had announced it for me.
“Then, let’s get started.”
I was about to begin but then paused. What do I do in a stream?
Just then…
“Kyuui~!”
From inside the house, something cute flew towards me.