CH 60

“… sigh. Today has been quite eventful,” Kanata thought about all the things that had happened.

He was currently sitting in a carriage in front of the equipment he had brought to do his live stream. He couldn’t do it in his own home, nor he wanted to go somewhere he might run into villagers, so he ended up in the carriage.

“Shall I give you a massage, Kanata-sama?”

“Oh… Thank you, Alphana.” 

He didn’t want to comment on how sensual her offer sounded.

Alphana’s ‘massage’ was actually a shoulder massage, a kind gesture for Kanata, who was tired from everything that had happened.

The live stream would start in a few minutes, but he was extra cautious since it was an outdoor broadcast.

“I’ll take care of things outside. I’m on high alert.”

Not many people can get past Mira’s detection, so as long as she is alert, they should be safe.

Of course, Mira will also be listening to the stream with earphones on to make sure no one hears her.

“Can you really concentrate with those on, Mira-san?”

“Yes, I can. When I listen to Kanata-sama’s stream, I go into a trance state and can concentrate more than usual!”

“… Is that okay?”

Kanata suddenly felt anxious.

“But Alphana and I are really in the best seats. We get to be here with Kanata-kun while he streams.” 

Maria and Alphana were even closer to him than Mira.

Since they were there anyway, Kanata suggested they listen in, and they agreed not to speak and keep the sound off.

“Don’t worry. I’ll use magic to block out our voices.”

Blocking out the sound was just another application of the magic used to conceal their presence. Magic was all-powerful in this different world.

Streaming while being watched by someone else wasn’t something he had done since he was in the Principality, but it wasn’t too nerve-wracking. Plus, it was also a way to thank the two for everything they had done for him regarding Haishin.

“Well, I was thinking of having a casual chat today, but… I thought of doing something new.”

“Something new?”

“What is it?”

Kanata grinned at the excited looks of the two.

It wasn’t anything particularly special, but he had come up with something that only he could do in the absence of entertainment.

“I told Mira a story I knew before. There are storybooks in this world, but it seems there’s nothing like what I told Mira. I want to share it with you like a storytelling session.”

“I see.”

“Like a read-aloud?”

It would be a story mixed with Kanata’s memories, embellished in a funny way, but it was an experiment that might resonate with other people, given Mira’s good reception.

“Then let’s get started. Mira, I’m counting on you too!”

“Okay!” The three of them replied cutely.

*****

Shortly thereafter, Kanata’s livestream began.

Maria, watching it nearby, trembled with joy, and her breath became slightly rough.

However, even that sound was blocked by magic, so he couldn’t hear her. Alphana beside her seemed to be telling her to calm down as she pinched her cheeks.

(Calm down. You’re making a face that a lady shouldn’t make.)

(But it’s so exciting! You’re excited too, right, Alphana?)

(A good woman shouldn’t show such emotions on her face. It’s better to desperately fantasize about it in your head.)

(Gununu…)

By the way, neither of them could read thoughts or use lip-reading, but for some reason, such an exchange was possible only for now.

“… It’s wonderful to hear his voice live like this.”

As a fan, being able to hear his live voice as Haishin was the best moment.

Not only Maria but also Alphana blushed and occasionally trembled while looking at Kanata’s back, but what they were doing was anyone’s guess…

“I thought today I might share a story with everyone. It’s a new segment for reading aloud, not a casual chat or letter corner!” 

Maria listened eagerly to Kanata’s words.

While Maria was actually listening to Kanata’s voice, she also kept an eye on the comments coming in on her own terminal.

: Reading aloud?

: Like reading a picture book?

: Not a picture book, maybe a book?

: Is it like listening to old legends?

: Maybe that’s it!

There were indeed written records of past legends and such in this world, and there were libraries where scholars and curious children could freely access them.

Maria had seen some famous ones herself, but she was sure that the story Kanata was about to tell them was none of those.

(Kanata-kun, what kind of story are you going to tell us?)

With that anticipation in mind, Kanata began his story.

“It happened one day. A boy woke up one morning and saw a number floating above his father’s and mother’s heads, each showing the number eight. The boy worried if his eyes were playing tricks on him or if he was hallucinating. The phenomenon was inexplicable.”

The story Kanata began to tell had nothing to do with any written records in this world, and furthermore, it was unrealistic.

However, precisely because it was an unrealistic story, Maria nodded with a light heart, thinking it was easy to empathize with it.

“When the boy went to the academy, he noticed he once again noticed the number floating above the teacher’s head, though in this case, it was four. His parents were eight, and his teacher was four. The difference in numbers only deepened the mystery. Once he entered the classroom, just like before, numbers were floating above all his classmates’ heads. His close friends he often spoke with had sixes or sevens, while those he didn’t had fours and fives.”

Maria still couldn’t imagine what these numbers meant. Meanwhile, Kanata, who was telling the story, continued storytelling as if he was imbuing the characters with emotion.

By speaking using emphasis, he was able to draw in listeners, including Maria, into the world of the story.

“The boy looked at the numbers and thought, ‘Could this possibly indicate everyone’s favorability towards me?’ His parents were eight, so he thought the upper limit was around ten… Until he saw the number above the academy’s most beautiful girl. It was thirty, and the boy was devastated.”

From then on, Kanata continued telling the story. Essentially, the stories in this world are legends or tales about swordsmen and magicians, so the story Kanata told was fresh.

(… So, is the setting that the girl’s favorability is skyrocketing?)

The story was based on a certain misunderstanding, as the boy thought the upper limit of favorability was around ten, but the heroine had a value of thirty, which made him think that maybe it was a hundred. If the upper limit is a hundred, then even his parents and friends, rated lower than ten, would have the lowest evaluation. The boy would become despondent as he thought about it.

(However, even though the limit was originally ten, that girl’s love for him was too strong, and she broke through the limit… I see.)

Maria was quick to understand.

It was a story about the daily life of a protagonist and the girl who had exceeded the limit level of fondness, but it focused on the protagonist being overwhelmed by her too-strong feelings.

“… That’s the gist of it. Well then, we’ll end it here today, where the main character is faced with such heavy emotions and what will happen in the end.”

Of course, the word yandere did not exist in this other world, so Kanata explained the concept.

[EDN: Well, well, well.]

“Huh, are you so curious about what happens next?” 

It was a story that captured the listeners’ hearts with things they had never read or heard of before and made them think of a completely different world. In fact, Maria was so excited to know what would happen to the boy next and how the girl would show her affection to him. 

“… I’m curious about what happens next, too.” 

“Yeah… but wait, isn’t that heavy girl like Alphana?” 

“How rude. I just purely admire Kanata-sama!” 

“Me too!” 

Maria strongly nodded, as she didn’t want to become a burden to the boy she liked, like the heavy girl that appeared in the story Kanata told her. 

By the way, Kanata’s storytelling was quite popular, with many asking for its continuation. It wasn’t only this kind of story, but they also wanted several stories with female protagonists to be shared as well.

Furthermore, there was even a suggestion to make Kanata’s stories into books… He was strengthening his influence in various ways.