Hobbyist VTuber-Chapter 238

Ha-eun admitted that her break had gone on a bit too long.

The friends who had traveled with her had already returned to their streams, yet Diah alone remained on hiatus.

That was definitely strange.

Of course, she could explain in full detail why Diah had delayed her return.

She just couldn’t deal with the consequences.

"No need to burn down the whole house just to catch a single flea."

Saying she was busy with other schedules was a safer excuse than giving a full explanation.

Expecting everyone to understand personal circumstances she couldn’t share was, honestly, too much to ask.

But still—

"Huh? That’s weird. Where did all the Noeulis who said they missed me go?"

— They °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° froze to death, obviously..

— Diah... it’s so cold... my eyes... are closing... shiver shiver shiver...

— I shivered on the streets until I died of exposure

— So why were you late?

— Noeulis are people too! If you don’t stream, we starve to death!

— My chicken got cold... ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Before she could even say a word, the chat had already exploded into flames.

So, first, she had to handle the raging masses.

The problem was that no matter what Diah said, the chat remained utterly chaotic.

"Nothing serious happened! I was just a tiny bit... just a tiny bit busier than usual. That’s all! Sorry for being late...!"

— But still, it’s nice to see you again

— Weren’t we your only ones? Weren’t we your only ones? Weren’t we your only ones? Weren’t we your only ones?

— If “sorry” was enough, why do we have laws? Why do we have police?!

— I don’t feel the sincerity

— So when’s the acrostic poem contest judging?

— Damn, it’s been a while

Some Noeulis started to calm down at Diah’s apology, while others grew even wilder.

Of course, any truly excessive messages were being handled by the moderators.

But from Diah’s perspective—who actually had to keep the stream running—it wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight.

"Hmm...."

So, she racked her brain, searching for a way to regain control of her own stream.

—Clap, clap.

"Alright, everyone, focus, focus!"

After clapping twice to grab attention, she quickly switched the stream screen from her room to the broadcasting setup screen.

"If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to press... this blue button...!"

— Gasp

— What

— ?

— Oh no

— Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry

— STOP!!

— This is a cheat code, wtf

Now fully embracing her role as a terrorist, Diah threatened the Noeulis in chat.

If they didn’t settle down, everyone would go down together in flames.

After all, hadn’t they all wanted to see her?

"Geez, at this rate, I won’t even last an hour. My hand’s on the mouse right now~. You better stop me before it’s too late~!"

— There will be no negotiations with terrorists

— Go ahead

— Be my guest

— Leaving already?

— Diah, it was fun, see you next time

"Huh? After two whole weeks, you’re just gonna watch for 20 minutes and leave? I’m really ending the stream, you better stop me!"

— LOL

— (Without you, I’ll perish)

— Why do you ignore us when we tell you to come back, but now that we say leave, you’re staying?

— Stealth power struggle

— Diah, you’re cute

— Fine, here, take my hand

— Ah, this is that familiar taste

— Is she turning into a menhera now?

She continued her half-joking, half-serious threats with the end stream button,

but it seemed the Noeulis had grown immune over time.

Most of them didn’t even flinch.

So, she made good on her threat.

"Art...!"

— ?

— Oh no

— If she leaves, we’re actually screwed

— We're done for

— Oh god

"...is an EXPLOSION!!"

— Ding.

[ The stream of Diah has ended. ]

They had to learn, just once, that the bomb would actually go off.

And extreme measures were sometimes necessary for self-regulation.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Why is medicine bitter?

Because it’s good for you.

— OPEN THE DOOR!!!

— BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

— Only after the flowers have fallen do we realize it was spring...

— Come back, come back, come back, come back, come back, come back, come back...

— Diah, I love you!!!!

— COME BACKKKKKKKK

— I WAS WRONG I WAS WRONG I WAS WRONG I WAS WRONG I WAS WRONG

There was no way Diah was going to let her stream descend into complete chaos.

Instead of going live again right away, she spent some time looking up news articles about God and the Goblin's premiere,

letting the Noeulis stew in their suffering for a while.

As she sneakily glanced at the now differently chaotic chat,

she finally started the stream again about ten minutes later.

[Oren10000☆ (Second Try)]

"Hello hello~! It’s been a while, everyone~! First time seeing you in two weeks~. You missed me, right~?"

— You promised to return! You promised to return! You promised to return! You promised to return!

— I missed you, T^T

— Wait, is this déjà vu?

— The missing two weeks, damn...

— Diah <<< literally cannot stop threatening us

— “Okaeri”

— I missed you so much

"Mmhmm, yeah yeah. So you all really missed me~. I knew my Noeulis were the best~."

Her voice was noticeably brighter.

Ha-eun, satisfied after successfully restoring order with her surprise end-stream move, grinned in contentment.

With the chat now tamed, she moved on to the originally planned content—judging the acrostic poem event.

Perhaps because they had already been through one "terrorist attack" under the name of a forced stream shutdown, the chat atmosphere had mellowed out.

"Oh, way more people participated than I expected?"

As Diah logged into the Illusionary Realm cafe, she scanned through the various acrostic poems.

But for some reason—

"No. Noeulis leaving me behind to play around. Eu. Extremely fun, actually. I. I’m telling you, totally worth it. ...WHY is this the winning entry?!"

The acrostic poem with the highest number of votes was a direct slander piece against Diah.

On top of that, they had even attached a fanart of Diah with a downright villainous expression.

"..............."

Diah’s virtual avatar glared so hard at the winner’s username, it was like she was trying to burn a hole through the screen.

The chat immediately erupted, sensing her shift in expression.

— Uh oh, she’s getting hostile

— Perfect score... perfect score...

— LMAO

— You win

— Diah’s true feelings got exposed lol

— How can the event host win her own event

— This dude is definitely getting the plushie

Honestly, she wanted to disqualify it right then and there.

The acrostic poems she had envisioned weren’t ones roasting her—they were supposed to be heartfelt.

Rather than give her precious plushie to some cheeky Noeuli, she wanted it to go to someone who had written something touching.

And yet, she couldn’t outright reject this one—because it had the highest number of votes.

"Hold on, who said this was the winner? I didn’t confirm it yet~!"

— What

— Boohoo

— If this isn’t the winner, then what is???

— It was funny, just give them the plushie

— Majority vote, let’s go

Ignoring all those likes on the post would definitely cause some backlash.

Sure, technically, the winner was supposed to be chosen based on Diah’s personal judgment.

But she still had to consider the Noeulis’ collective opinion.

So—

"Well, I guess I have no choice. Alright, I’ll take Noeulis’ opinions into account too."

She pretended to yield to the crowd’s demands.

And almost at the same time, she opened Discord.

—♪

—♪

—♪

—♪

[ "H-hello? Diah-senpai?" ]

"Yep, Nael~. I need a Noeuli’s opinion~."

She had called the most undeniable Noeuli in existence.

The chat was soon filled with question marks.

But Diah didn’t even blink.

They had told her to reflect Noeulis’ opinions in the judgment.

And that’s exactly what she was doing.

"Alright, Nael, tell me. Do you think this acrostic poem deserves a plushie?"

[ "Uh, um... honestly, it was kinda funny—" ]

"AHEM!!"

[ "Oh, wait. Not the right answer. Got it." ]

Having fully grasped Ha-eun’s unspoken intentions, Nael immediately switched to harsh criticism.

Diah’s avatar nodded along, humming in satisfaction.

[ "It had some wit, but... it failed to grasp the event host’s intended theme." ]

"That’s what Nael says~. Everyone heard that, right?"

— Rigged beyond belief

— Is this for real LMAO

— Unbelievable

— This is a major controversy

— Nael, if you're being held hostage, wave a carrot

— How is this any different from a dictatorship

— Diah is a well-known tyrant, actually

And so, the top-voted acrostic poem was put on hold.

Then, after announcing she’d be stepping away for a moment, Ha-eun got up from her chair.

"Nael, take care of the Noeulis for me~."

[ "H-huh?!" ]

"It’ll only be a second~!"

— Click.

The sound of the soundproof booth door opening and closing was caught on the broadcast mic.

Ha-eun’s destination: the bathroom.

Which meant... until she returned, Nael had to host the stream in her place.

[ "Uh, okay... what should I talk about?" ]

Thrown into the role of temporary host, Nael hesitated, utterly bewildered.

At the same time, the chat flooded with gossip.

— Our baby has lost her way

— Nael, do you know why she was late?

— She doesn’t love us anymore... sigh...

— We were freezing, Nael, do you understand our pain

— Ask Squirrel to extend Diah’s stream time

— The Ice Age isn’t over yetttttt

"...What do I do."

Nael had just been scolded by Ji Hye-min not too long ago,

so they were hesitant to say anything reckless.

Truthfully, they had debated whether to even pick up Diah’s call.

But right now, they were the only Noeuli who knew the real situation.

So, Nael took it upon themselves to cover for Diah.

[ "U-uh, well, guys... actually, Diah-senpai collapsed while on vacation. She said the ground was shaking and everything..." ]

— ?

— What

— ???

— What are you even saying

[ "Even earlier, I saw her coughing nonstop, and my heart was aching, you know? I’ve never seen her look that sick before." ]

[ "But she said she had to stream today, so she pushed herself. Please don’t be too hard on her, everyone." ]

Not entirely untrue statements.

But also statements that left room for major misunderstandings.

Perhaps that’s why—

—Click.

—Step, step.

"I’m back. Sorry for the wait."

— Diah, don’t be sick, T^T

— We’re sorry we’re sorry we’re sorry we’re sorry we’re sorry we’re sorry

— Your health comes first, Diah

— We didn’t even know... we didn’t even know... we didn’t even know...

— Please, just don’t graduate

— If you’re sick, take a break

"...?"

By the time Ha-eun returned to the booth, the Noeulis’ attitude had done a complete 180.

She had only been gone for 10 minutes.

Yet somehow, something had happened.

And she had no idea what.