Shirayuki Reid Abducted: Seven Secret Days with My Prince - The Prince's Special Training, the Plain Girl's Courage

Thursday after school. Not even ten minutes after the final bell rang, Shirayuki Reid was already pressing the intercom at Shiranui Mio's house. 　*Ding-dong*, went the light electronic chime. 　From the second-floor window came the sound of frantic footsteps. The clatter of someone rushing down the stairs, the patter of running through the hallway, and then the rattle of the front door lock. "Yes—ah, n-no, I mean, welcome!" 　The door swung open with force, and there stood Mio, her face bright red. Her waist-length black hair was disheveled, her blunt bangs plastered to her forehead with sweat. Her pale lavender eyes trembled with nervousness. "Hey, I'm here. Starting today, we're doing serious streaming training." 　Reid grinned. His silver-white hair caught the afternoon sunlight, and the silver piercing in his right ear glinted sharply. Even in just a thin cardigan over his school-issued shirt, he looked like he'd stepped out of a picture just by standing there. "Um, Shirayuki-kun, please, your shoes..." 　Mio's gaze darted around as she held out a pair of slippers. Light pink guest slippers. The kind her mother had bought at the hundred-yen shop. "Pardon the intrusion." 　Reid slipped off his shoes and strode down the hallway as if he owned the place. Mio scurried after him. "W-wait, Shirayuki-kun, please wait, um, my mom isn't home today, so it's just the two of us..." "I know. You told me on LINE yesterday. Your mom's working late today, right?" "Y-yes, but that's not the point, I mean..." 　Mio mumbled, trailing off. Just the two of them. Her room. The person she liked. A recording microphone. The secret folder on her computer. 　(*I can't do this. My heart won't survive.*) 　Oblivious to Mio's inner turmoil, Reid bounded up the stairs two at a time. "Come on, hurry up. We're practicing streaming." 　Mio's room was the same as always. 　A six-tatami space. A desk with dual monitors and a condenser microphone. Anime posters on the walls, and a hanger with five pairs of earphones. Through the window, the school building of Kanadeoka High was visible in miniature. 　Reid sat down on the floor without hesitation and pulled a laptop out of his backpack. "Today, we're starting with comment-reading practice." "Comment-reading..." "Right. It's the most important skill for a streamer. When viewers leave comments, you pick them up and read them. Whether you can do that or not completely changes the atmosphere of a stream." 　Reid booted up his computer with practiced ease. "You know Stella Cast, right? The biggest VTuber streaming platform in the country. It's got about twelve million registered users. Around a hundred eighty thousand active streamers. It has a built-in avatar generation AI called Modelion that can do high-precision face tracking with just a smartphone camera. There's a free monthly plan and a premium plan, and popular VTubers earn over five hundred thousand yen a month." 　Mio nodded along. She actually knew all of it. Stella Cast's specs, Modelion's capabilities, the income of popular streamers. Because she'd installed the app ages ago to watch Reid's streams, and she checked it every single day. 　But she couldn't say that. "So, about comment-reading." 　Reid pulled up a list of practice comments on his screen. "I'll say comments off the top of my head, and you read them and react. Got it?" "Eh, ah, yes..." "Here we go. Let's see... 'Hello! First time here!'" 　Mio took a deep breath. She sat in front of the microphone. Her fingertips trembled. "H-hello... welcome, first-time viewer..." 　Her voice shook. A thin, reedy voice, like a mosquito's whine. Even she thought it was terrible. 　Reid didn't laugh. "Oh, not bad. Next. 'What time does your stream start?'" "Um, the stream is, well, it hasn't been decided yet..." "I see. Then, 'What's your favorite food?'" "M-my favorite food is... melon bread..." 　Reid's head snapped up. "Seriously? I love melon bread too. The hundred-thirty-yen one from Hoshizora Mart is so good, right?" "Ah, yes, that one... I like it too..." 　Mio's voice grew just a little louder. Reid didn't miss it. "Oh, that was good. Your voice came out naturally." "Eh?" "When you talk about things you like, your voice softens. You can use that in streams. Viewers want to see that kind of genuine reaction." 　Mio didn't know how to react to having her voice praised. "Um, is my voice really okay...?" "Of course it is." 　Reid answered instantly. "Your voice, how do I put it... it has this transparency. It's calming to listen to. Like the sound of water. Like quiet rain at night. Just hearing it makes your heart feel lighter." 　Mio looked down. Her ears burned. "N-no one's ever said that to me before..." "Seriously? What a waste. Your voice is genuinely good." 　Reid meant it. That sincerity was too dazzling for Mio. "Okay, next. Applied comment-reading. 'What's the relationship between Reid-kun and Mio-chan?'" "Eh!?" 　Mio's voice cracked. "See, comments like that will come. If we stream together, they definitely will. The question is how you respond." "I-I can't! I can't do that!" "Why not? It's practice." "Because, because, what the relationship between Shirayuki-kun and me is... that's what I'd like to know myself..." 　Mio's voice faded to almost nothing by the end. 　Reid blinked for a moment, then grinned. "Then it's my turn to answer. 'What's the relationship between Reid-kun and Mio-chan?'" 　Reid leaned closer to the microphone. "She's someone special. The person who understands my voice better than anyone." 　Mio's heart leaped with an audible thump. "W-w-w-what are you saying!?" "See, that's the prince voice. Now you try it." "I can't, I can't, I can't!" 　Mio covered her face with both hands. Through the gaps between her fingers, her bright red ears were visible. 　Reid laughed out loud. "Haha, you're seriously funny. But hey, that embarrassed reaction is exactly what viewers love. Reactions are important." "That's not the issue..." 　Mio peeked at Reid through her fingers. 　Reid was laughing. A bright, bottomless smile, like the sun. 　(*He's really enjoying my reactions.*) 　And that made her just a little bit happy. 　The comment-reading practice continued after that. "'What's your favorite anime?'" "Um, lately I've been watching anime about streaming..." "'How tall are you?'" "O-one hundred fifty-three centimeters..." "'Do you have a boyfriend?'" "N-no! I don't have one!" "'What do you like about Reid-kun?'" "H-h-his voice... wait, why are you asking that!?" 　Mio fell for it, turned bright red, and yet her voice gradually grew louder. 　After about an hour of practice, Reid closed his laptop. "Alright, that's it for comment-reading today. Next, the basics of avatar control." 　Reid opened the Stella Cast app. "With Modelion, you can do face tracking with just a smartphone camera. Blinks, mouth movements, everything gets reflected on the avatar. Here, want to see my avatar?" 　When Reid operated the app, a prince avatar with silver-white hair appeared on screen. Sky-blue eyes, a white cape, a silver crown. "This is my avatar. Prince Shirayuki Reid of the Snow White Kingdom." 　Mio was glued to the screen. "Amazing... it looks just like you, Shirayuki-kun..." "Right? Modelion's accuracy is seriously high. And this is just with a smartphone. With the premium plan, you get even higher resolution and exclusive effects. Nine hundred eighty yen a month." 　Reid explained happily as he moved the avatar around. "Oh, right. You should make an avatar too. Modelion works on the free plan." "Eh, me too?" "Obviously. You're my partner." 　Mio timidly took out her smartphone. She opened the Stella Cast app. She'd actually installed it long ago. To watch Reid's streams. "Avatar creation... um, choose a hairstyle, choose an eye color..." 　Mio operated it carefully. Long black hair. Pale lavender eyes. An avatar that resembled herself. "Done..." "Oh, let me see." 　Mio turned her phone screen toward Reid. "Whoa, that's really good! Cute! It looks just like you." "I-it's not cute..." "It's cute. Just accept the compliment." 　Reid leaned in to look at Mio's phone. He was close. Close enough that their shoulders might touch. 　Mio held her breath. She could smell the shampoo in Reid's hair. A citrusy, refreshing scent. "Alright, next, let's try an actual test stream." "Eh, already!?" "Practice in the field is fastest. Don't worry, there won't be any viewers at first. Just think of it as practice." 　Reid set up the streaming screen on his laptop. He launched Stella Cast's streaming software and displayed Mio's avatar alongside his own. "There's also a feature called Duel Cast for two-person simultaneous streaming, but today we're just doing a normal test stream. Duel Cast is a versus feature where the winner is decided by viewer votes, super chats, and comment counts. It's pretty intense. We might do it someday, but it's too early for now." 　Mio felt a vague unease at the words "Duel Cast." But right now, that wasn't the priority. "Okay, starting the stream. Three, two, one..." 　Reid pressed the stream button. 　The screen displayed "Stream Started." Viewer count: zero. "Good evening, I'm Shirayuki Reid. Prince of the Snow White Kingdom. Today, I'd like to introduce a special guest to all my subjects." 　Reid's voice filled the room. His streaming voice, through the microphone. Lower than usual, sweet, pleasant to the ear. 　Mio felt her heart seized in a vice grip. "Now, Mio. Introduce yourself." "Eh, ah, um..." 　She sat in front of the microphone. Her throat was bone dry. "I-I'm Shiranui Mio... a second-year high school student..." 　Her voice trembled. But Reid smiled and nodded. 　At that moment, a message appeared in the comment section. *Good evening* 　One viewer had arrived. "Oh, a comment came in. It says 'Good evening.' Mio, respond." "G-good evening... thank you for coming..." 　Another comment appeared. *Your voice is cute* "Oh, it says 'Your voice is cute.' See, I told you. Your voice is good." 　Reid said with a smug look. 　Mio stared at the words on the screen. 　*Your voice is cute.* 　Words directed at her. "Th-thank you... ehehe..." 　Before she knew it, she was smiling. 　Her lips relaxed naturally, her cheeks lifting. 　Reid watched that smile intently. "...Yeah, you really do have a great face when you smile." 　Mio hurriedly looked down. "Th-that's not true..." 　Before she knew it, about five viewers had gathered in the comment section. *You're both cute* *Like a prince and princess* *Mio-chan's voice is healing* 　Reid read the comments aloud. "'You're both cute,' it says. My subjects, you have good taste. 'Like a prince and princess'... oh, nice. Right, Mio?" "Eh, ah, um, I'm not a princess or anything..." "From today, you're the princess of the Snow White Kingdom. It's decided." "W-wait, don't just decide that on your own!" 　The comment section filled with smiling emoji stamps. 　The thirty-minute test stream ended in the blink of an eye. 　Peak viewer count: eight. It was a small stream, but for Mio, it was the first stream of her life. "Good work. How was it?" 　Reid asked as he closed his laptop. "...My heart was pounding so hard." "Right? But it was fun, wasn't it?" "...Yes." 　Mio nodded slightly. 　It had been fun. 　Streaming with Reid had been fun. 　Having her voice praised had made her happy. 　But. 　Mio glanced at her own computer. 　In the corner of the desktop. A hidden folder. Two hundred thirty-seven files, 4.8 gigabytes of audio data. 　(*If he ever finds out that I record Shirayuki-kun's voice every night...*) 　A chill ran down her spine. "Mio? What's wrong?" "Eh, ah, it's nothing!" 　Mio shook her head frantically. 　Reid tilted his head but didn't press further. "Hey, let's take a break. You must be thirsty. Can I get something to drink?" "Ah, yes. Is barley tea okay?" "Sure, thanks." 　Mio headed

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Episode 2

Name: Shirayuki Reid Abducted: Seven Secret Days with My Prince
Author: Novelia

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