Day 5 (Thu)

Episode 15: Rising trend

The next day's class ended without a hitch. After that, I wondered about club activities. I couldn't play IRO yesterday because of Mion's first video check & retake.

"...~ou-kun, ~go ..."(TN:She's saying 'Shou-kun, let's go', but she's so quiet only part of it is heard.)

"Nn, let's go."

The gazes of the girls in the class were lukewarm. And painful gazes from the men ...

"?"

"No, it's nothing. I'm just curious about the video we uploaded yesterday."

Even though I'm misleading her, I'm really worried.

As expected, it was before 11:00 pm when it was uploaded, and since it's now after school, I'd be happy if it was watched in double digits, preferably in triple digits.

"Oh, you're finally here!"

"B ... Katori-buchou, you're early."(TN:He starts saying Bell.)

"It seems to be a bit amazing! I'd like to discuss the details inside, so please open it quickly."

What is it? Anyway, I unlocked the door to the clubroom and entered. It's decided what to do, or rather, I put on a VRHMD and started it up. Should I leave it in Real View?

"Look at this."

"This is the video we uploaded yesterday ... Haa!?"

The number of views had already exceeded 10,000 , and the number of channel subscribers was in the latter half of the triple digits. It was only a matter of time before it reached four digits. I mean,

"It wasn't that bad in the morning, but it started to increase all at once after noon. From now on until tomorrow, it will increase at an even greater pace."

Are you serious ... Isn't the story too intense?

Mion's eyes were blinking as if she was surprised ...

"Are you okay?"

[ Yeah, I'm okay. Umm, you're not going to say we should stop, are you, desu? ]

"Yeah, almost all of them are positive. People who are looking forward to the continuation of Shou-kun's play, and people who have become Mion-san's fans, it feels like both."

"That's good ..."

I felt relieved to hear that. Well, even though I got a lot of special reward SP, the play itself was really tough, and it was a special play where you couldn't get help from someone or play with friends.

"Even in Saezutter, 'Starting on a deserted island' is becoming a trend."(TN:Saezutta means to sing/to chirp/to twitter. I think you get it.)

"Uwaa ..."

Is Saezutter, the largest SNS, really trending?

[ Shou-kun, tell me your Saezutter account. ]

"Oh, I'm not doing it."

"Ara, that's rare these days."

"I don't want to see spoilers about games. I don't want to be offended by that kind of stuff, so I try not to look online when I'm really into a game."

I'll check it out when I'm stuck, like after clearing one round, but ...

[ Muu ... ]

And there's no need to be dissatisfied(twitter) like that. All I want to know is what to make for dinner tonight.(TN:Wordplay here, Saezu can mean satisfied/cheery/etc as well as sing/chirp/twitter.)

Come to think of it, did Miki have an account? I'll ask her what she usually chirps when I get home.

"I mean, even if I have a Saezutter account, it's not okay to talk about the contents of the video, right?"

"Of course."

Even I don't intend to spoil the start of IRO's uninhabited island there. If I did that, I'd definitely be in trouble.

"I'm fine without it ..."

[ My account is locked. ]

"If you do, you should make a separate account."

That's right. It's natural to separate work and private life. Work and club activites.

As we were talking, the door to the clubroom opened and Yata-sensei appeared. It felt like she was hurrying, did she care about Mion's first video jumping?

"Sensei, you came at the right time."

"I hurried ~. You haven't taken any action yet, have you ~?"(TN:Apparently Yata-sensei stretches the endings of her sentences.)

"Yes. If the first video jumps like this, I think we'll have to be very careful with our next move."

As expected of Witch Bell. She reached the top virtual idol ranks in less than a year, and it felt like she was thinking about a lot of things.

"So ~, what were you talking about just now ~?"

"It's related to SNS. 'Starting on an uninhabited island' is becoming a trend on Saezutter, so we were talking about whether it's better to create an account."

Bell-buchou explained that I didn't do SNS, and that Mion's account was locked, so we had no intention of using it for advertising.

"Is that right ~. I don't think we need to do SNS for the time being ~."

"Shouldn't we raise our profile right now?"

"Yes ~. The direction of the video is also uninhabited island slow life ~, so I thought it would be better if we don't get too aggressive to get loose fans ~."

According to Yata-sensei's plan, we would post videos about twice a week. Information, including notifications, would be limited to the channel only, and it was aimed at the slow pace and relaxing group.

"Even so, if we keep going at this pace, it will soon become profitable."

"Suddenly monetizing ~, if Bell-chan and Mion-chan both become idols at the same time ~, you'll get strange attention from the school, right ~? Well, Mimori is a private school ~, so I don't think they'll be too picky about it ~."

"Last year, I donated 5 million yen to the school. Well, we got this equipment ready with that money, so I have no complaints."

5 million Yen!? Rather, if she donated 5 million Yen that means Bell-buchou is making more money, right?

It must have been exposed in my expression, Bell-buchou gives a counterargument.

"I'll explain to all the club members how much money I make from 'Witch Bell'. Even at the end of the month. Also, at Mimori it's OK to work part-time, so there won't be any problems, you know?"

"Ah, yes."

Bell-buchou seemed to be saving most of her income. Or rather, Yata-sensei said that paying taxes was a mess.

She may have been introduced to a tax accountant by Buchou, so it seemed that donations were essential in order to get along with the school in the future.

"In moderation ~. Second-year students have school trips in the fall ~, so schoolwork and school events are also important ~."

"I'd rather stream IRO live than participate in school events ..."

Yata-sensei glared at Bell-buchou, who muttered softly. Scary.

I don't think you'll be able to play games if you skip school trips.

< Shou-kun. Are you going to play IRO today? >

!?

< Y, yeah, I will. >

If I suddenly receive a whisper, I'll freak out.

My younger sister Miki and my older sister have never done such a thing ...

< What time do you think it will be, desu? >

< Maybe around 8:30. >

< I understand. I'll be waiting for you in the club room before then. >

It's hard to tell which is real, the normal Izumo-san or the current Mion. Girls are scary ...