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Chapter 9: 【Last Adjustments】Convene to decide the collab details【Kuroneko San/Arutema】
「Kurone-san, if you’re free after this, would you like to hang out with us?」
It’s the Friday before the off-collab on Sunday.
Despite thinking that I should head home quickly for the final adjustments stream today, Kobayashi Haruto-kun called out to me.
「Eh, ah, hang out……?」
「Un. We talked about doing a late casual social gathering. Y’know, cause this school doesn’t have any class changes」
Casual social gathering?
The friends waiting in the hallway are those riajuu’s that always hang around Kobayashi-kun.
I think there’s absolutely zero point in them gathering and deepening their relationships now but riajuu’s probably want to attach meaning to that kind of senseless act.
And since they want to soak in the adult atmosphere, they use certain words to name it.
Casual social gathering.
Mixer.
Year-end party.
You guys use various names but all you wanted to do was just party!
I want to say that. I want to say it so bad. But I can’t.
「S, sorry. Umm, I, uhh……am busy, today」
As usual, my thoughts and my words are at odds.
I thought I’ve improved a bit due to Natsunami Yui’s special training but talking to riajuu’s while looking them in the face is, as I thought, a whole other beast.
I wonder if I’ll safely make it through Sunday’s off-collab like this……
◆
【Last Adjustments】Convene to decide the collab details【Kuroneko San/Arutema】
18,198 Watching：Kuroneko San　Subscribers 22,434
「Konbannyaaa」
：Konbannyaaa
：The thumbnail looks great!
：Is today a celebration stream?
「A viewer created the thumbnail for me, nya」
：Don’t attach the nya
：Do it
「Actually, all I could think about was the off-collab so I didn’t pay attention to my subscriber count at all! That’s why, before the showdown, I'll be doing a stream to thank you guys」
：What about the collab details
：Clickbait
：Don’t run from the collab
Shut up～～～I don’t care～～～～！！！
I’ve been doing chatting streams every single day so I’m tired! On top of that, I got involved with riajuu’s at school!
It should be fine for me to host a stream to spoil myself today!
「Well, so it’s 20,000, 20,000 people. It’s been one week since I debuted? Two weeks? Maybe three? I don’t know myself but even I think it’s super great」
：Super great (sounds like a grade schooler)
：Your vocab sucks so much it’s nonexistent
：Grade schoolers are smarter
：Her talk power has dropped from doing too many chatting streams…
「Who are you calling a grade schooler!? I’m a beautiful JK in my second year of high school and popular in my class」
I feel like the viewers have been making fun of me recently.
The modesty they showed from day one has been disappearing day by day. They’re now bullying me with everything they got.
Nn? Did they, have any modesty to begin with……?
In, in any case!
Even though my viewers are all like this, my gratitude is real.
Although I make tons of verbal slips, they laugh and joke along with it. Personally, I don’t think my streams are that interesting but they come to watch me every day.
There are a lot of weirdos but they’re all good people.
Well, they’ll get cocky if I say that so I won’t!!!
「Okay, let’s go with the usual Marshmallows」
【Marshmallow】
Konbannyaaa
Kuroneko-san is close with Yuimama but have you talked to any other Livers?
「Talk……?」
：Ah
：Why did you choose this?
：This is miserable, the number of collabs for other members of the second gen is slowly increasing
「Well, y’know, it’s still fine……By the way, I got invited to hang out by a classmate at school today. This has been a problem plaguing me for years but, how do you invite people?」
：?
：??
：???
A collab won’t happen unless you invite or are invited.
The past collabs have all been hosted by Natsunami Yui. Even now, no one has called out to me except her.
The farthest I’ve gotten was probably the time I sent my senpais and second generation members a greeting during the debuts.
That’s why I don’t know how to invite people. To begin with, I don’t know what to say for the first text message.
「How are riajuu’s able to invite people so easily? Even though we’re not close, they say “let’s go karaoke,” their communication power is seriously god-like……」
：Her communication power is in critical condition
：I know that feeling too
：Kuroneko-san is pitiful…
First of all, the hurdle for karaoke is the highest out of them all.
You might think that it provides some breathing space for komyushou’s since they don’t have to speak until the singing is done. But that’s a complete mistake!
In the first place, komyushou’s can’t sing in front of others.
It matters not whether they are on good terms with the others, the very act of singing in front of people is difficult for them, y’know, cause it’s too embarrassing!
Having others staring and listening to you while you’re singing. To make it worse, they secretly think that you’re tone-deaf. Thinking that makes my face burn up with shame.
I want to loudly declare that the weakness of komyushou’s isn’t just communicating with words!
Huh? The topic somehow changed from inviting people to karaoke?
「Since the mystery of riajuu’s has deepened, let’s move on」
：As if the collab topic never happened 草
：Someone please invite her
【Marshmallow】
Nyaossu!
Talk about your fetishes!
「You guys, there’s too many sexual harassment marshmallows like this. I don’t really mind but could you give some thought about whether the Liver you send it to will take it as a joke? Especially Yuimama. Sending it to her because she seems like a bitch won’t get you off the hook!」
：You’re the embodiment of sexual harassment!
：The biggest victim here is Yuiyui
Natsunami Yui：San?
「Hie……」
When I think about why Natsunami Yui always knows what I’m up to on my streams, it’s simple: it seems she always has me under surveillance.
I say “it seems” because I didn’t hear it from the person herself. It’s just pure speculation.
「U, umm! My fetishes, fetishes. Uun……time stop, hypnosis and brainwashing, the ones where you train them, and」
：OUUUUUT!!!
：Stop! Calm down for a sec!
：It’s almost like a lie that she is a teenage girl
：Beautiful JK she says
：More like an old man
「Who are you calling an old man! I’m a real JK!?」
：There’s a problem because you’re a JK
：Rather than fetishes, you’re just an ero d◯jin1
：You like the uke2 type too much
：I see!
I only answered because there were too many marshmallows but they’re giving me an earful over it.
You have the mind of an old man, Arutema’s disgrace, and such. Aren’t you saying that too much!?
「Then let’s go with this」
【Marshmallow】
Hurry up and graduate
【Marshmallow】
You have that much free time to read Marshmallows like this?
How about you graduate?
【Marshmallow】
Komyushou komyushou stfu
Graduate already
「Un, there’s a lot like this. A bunch」
：You didn’t have to pick marshmallows like that for a celebration stream
：Re-debut every second
「When I read these, there’s honestly some contents that makes me want to cry. But reading marshmallows calm me down at times when I’m anxious and stuff」
I’m always saying that I want to be spoiled. That’s why everyone is pitching in by praising me and filling it up with positive thoughts. When I read all those, I’m sometimes seized by an indescribable sense of insecurity.
It’s probably that thing called pressure. What should you do if one day, the floor beneath you suddenly crumbled and you fall head first into darkness? Something like that.
But at times like that, reading antis’ comments balances out the positive and the negative, bringing my mind to an equilibrium.
I wonder if it’s that thing where inkya's feel more at home with gloominess rather than cheerfulness……
「Well, that’s why, thanks. I want you to hold back with the extreme comments, but you can pour cold water on me and give me some harsh comments to calm me down」
：This is the Liver that revealed her fetishes earlier?
：I’ll be more harsh then……
：Even if we pour cold water on you, you’ll still go up in flames
「If you only upload harsh comments, I’ll become depressed like normal so stop! Next!」
【Marshmallow】
Encounter with San.
One day, I found a small kitten. It was a black cat with glamorous fur.
Looking at the kitten left in the cardboard box with her small cries of nyaa nyaa, I couldn’t help but take her in despite living in a no pets apartment.
I gently approached her and took her up in my arms.
Being left in a cardboard box means she was probably originally a pet. Maybe it’s because she isn’t too friendly, but she’s rampaging and wriggling in my arms.
With her claws and fangs, she scratched the skin beneath my shirt, but I held onto her firmly and said in a soft voice:
「It’s alright…」
Maybe because she was too tired, or perhaps my feelings reached her, the black cat soon quieted down. She made a face as if she’s given up, but I felt a sense of relief within that expression so I named her on the spur of the moment.
「San, your name is San from now on」
Struck by the sunlight, her fur glistened; I felt that the girlish name was perfect for it.
San replied with a short「Nya」before going to sleep within my arms. I sensed a hint of happiness somewhere within that expression.
「Way too long!!! Don’t go throwing an SS3 into people’s marshmallows」
：草
：草
：Sequel plz
：Ma, master〜
It’d catch my eyes whether I like it or not!
I thought it was a long passage praising me but it was just an SS!
It’s true that they’re a pssionate fan but it’s different from what I wanted……!！
「Let’s make the next one the last. I’ll just casually choose the most recent from the ones coming in」
【Marshmallow】
Have you decided on the details of the collab?
「I didn’t!!!!!」
Ero doujin - refers to fan or circles who create R-18 works or short for the R-18 work itself
Uke - the receiving side or bottom in a relationship
SS = short story