Today is a day off for everyone.
I’ve been busily working through the pile of office tasks.
Since I’m the only support staff here, all of these tasks inevitably fall on me.
It’s good to scout for talent to succeed as dungeon streamers, but I’m starting to feel like we could use some more behind-the-scenes staff as well.
But, well… Support staff don’t exactly flock to a newly established streaming agency.
Besides, with my own limited work experience, I’m hardly capable of training any support staff myself.
So, I have no choice but to hire experienced people, but they’re in high demand elsewhere, so it’s not like they’d choose a small agency like this one.
“Phew…”
I think I’ll take a break now that I’ve finished up most of the office work. I’ll also check up on what other streamers are up to during this downtime.
Trends are important in streaming. That’s true for dungeon streaming too.
Popular dungeons, combat styles – there’s a wide variety. New strategies are always emerging, and there are tutorial videos on these as well, so I try to stay updated on the information.
Let’s see what’s up in the recommendations… Whoa, this stream…
It’s that female streamer, Reina Shindo, the one I turned down before, streaming a dungeon right now.
According to Daigo-san, Reina Shindo isn’t exactly the type suited for dungeon adventures.
So, Reina Shindo was recruiting some partners to join her in the stream.
Our promising newcomer, Ikezawa-san, was one of the people she was targeting as a potential partner, but honestly, that’s not really relevant.
I decided to check out her stream, just in case. After all, what she’s doing is pretty close to what we do here.
Several streamers teaming up to tackle a dungeon. There might be some new strategies or teamwork tips to learn.
I opened up Reina Shindo’s stream.
“Everyone, keep going! Defeat those monsters!”
The male dungeon streamers were fighting off a massive horde of monsters while Reina Shindo cheered them on from the back – a rather odd scene.
“I’ll give a reward to whoever defeats the most monsters!”
Reina Shindo crossed her arms in a way that emphasized her cleavage, trying to tempt the streamers.
The streamers, spurred on by this, scrambled to take down as many monsters as possible.
“Move it! That’s my prey!”
“What? At least let me get one hit in!”
“Shut up! You loot thief!”
Some of the streamers started quarreling.
Whoever lands the attack on a monster gets the rights to its materials, so this rule was causing disputes.
And now, other streamers are also…
“Hey, what’s the big idea finishing off my prey?!”
“Shut up! You got your hit in, so you’ve got the right to materials anyway!”
“That doesn’t matter! Reina Shindo’s reward is mine!”
Apart from the materials, Reina Shindo’s goading has led to some ugly arguments.
Comments are rolling in:
“What is this?”
“They each have high combat skills, but there’s zero teamwork.”
“Nice… keep fighting… fight more…”
“These guys are so dumb, it’s hilarious.”
Their lack of teamwork has become a form of entertainment in itself.
Maybe it’s like pro wrestling’s popularity – people are naturally drawn to watching others in conflict and find some satisfaction in it.
Could it be that Reina Shindo calculated this?
“Fwaaah…”
She yawned and fiddled with her phone, seeming completely indifferent to the brawl around her.
Honestly, as a person… does she have no self-awareness about making people fight for her sake?
Rejecting her in the interview feels like it was the right decision.
However, there are people out there who, even if they lack the ability to manage someone like her, end up getting taken advantage of just because she’s beautiful. It really makes you feel the unfairness of the world.
This stream is completely useless as a reference. We would never operate like this at our agency.
In a way, it serves well as a bad example, but there’s nothing else to learn from it.
I’m genuinely glad Ikezawa-san wasn’t scouted over to that group. That kind of environment would definitely not suit him.
After all, while the men are working hard, the only one standing out in the stream is Reina Shindo, who’s doing nothing at all.
“Reina Shindo’s yawn is so cute!” “Next time, wear something even more revealing.” “Hey, Reina Shindo. There’s a weakened monster. Finish it off and take the loot!”
If Ikezawa-san were to work so hard yet fail to stand out here, he’d definitely be crushed by it.
Anyway, there’s no point in watching this stream any longer. I’ll finish up the rest of my work and then grab some food.
After focusing and wrapping up my tasks, I finished my quota of work. It was just around dinnertime, so I headed to a nearby set meal restaurant for dinner.
“Welcome!”
As I entered the restaurant, I noticed a familiar face sitting at the counter.
“Ah! Ikezawa-san.”
“Kageno-san, good evening.”
Ikezawa-san was looking over the menu. Since it was a good opportunity, I decided to sit next to him.
“Kageno-san, working today too?”
“Well, I’m trying hard enough to avoid dying from overwork.”
Ikezawa-san ordered a pork cutlet set, and I ordered a fried horse mackerel set. We waited for our meals to arrive.
“Ikezawa-san, I was watching that streamer, Reina Shindo, doing a dungeon stream today.”
“Oh? How was it?”
“Pretty terrible. There was no teamwork at all among her followers. On top of that, she wasn’t doing anything herself. I did see her take one hit to steal loot, though.”
It was the so-called “princess play” you’d find in online games. I never thought I’d see that kind of scene in a real dungeon stream.
“Wow, that’s awful. I’m glad I turned down the collab invitation. Shadow Stars is definitely the best.”
“Thank you. Hearing that makes me feel like starting this agency was worth it.”
Our orders arrived—a pork cutlet set for him and a fried horse mackerel set for me. My set came with a large fried horse mackerel, shredded cabbage, miso soup, pickles, and rice.
The miso soup had tofu and wakame seaweed—a classic but satisfying combination.
As I took a bite of the piping hot fried fish, I continued talking with Ikezawa-san.
“So, Ikezawa-san, why do you care so much about standing out?”
“Huh?”
He looked a bit caught off guard by the unexpected question.
“Oh, don’t worry. You don’t have to answer if it’s difficult to talk about.”
I’d only asked because I wanted a conversation starter.
“Well… It’s a bit embarrassing, but I do have a reason for it.”
“Oh? What’s the embarrassing story?”
Now that he’d introduced it like that, I couldn’t help but be curious.
“When I was in elementary school, I had a girl I liked. I think it was around fourth grade. She was a classmate who had a lovely smile and was always cheerful. But then she transferred to another school.”
“Ah, that’s tough.”
“So, we had a farewell party for her, and at the end, she said, ‘I’ll never forget any of you.’”
“Ah, I see.”
So far, it was a pretty common story. Nothing particularly embarrassing.
“Then, when I got to middle school, I met her again. Even though we’d been in different school districts in elementary school, we ended up in the same one for middle school.”
“Ah, I know how that goes.”
“So, I was really happy and just went up to talk to her, totally excited to reunite. But she looked at me and said, ‘Uh, who are you?’”
“Seems like she forgot you.”
What happened to “I’ll never forget any of you”?
“Exactly. I wasn’t that noticeable in class back then, so I guess I didn’t stand out enough to be remembered. But it was still a shock.”
“Yeah, that’s rough.”
“That’s when I decided I had to change myself. I started speaking louder, thinking that people who are loud tend to stand out more.”
“I see, so that’s why.”
Getting called “Who are you?” by someone you know can be pretty harsh. And even more so if it’s by someone you had feelings for. I could see how that might have left a bit of a scar.
I felt like I’d gotten to know Ikezawa-san a little better.
