This is a place that's always full of energy. A cheerful office where the singing and dancing VTuber Beat Mario and his friends gather.
Beat Mario is the boss of the doujin music circle Cool&Create. He's a singer famous for Touhou arrangements. His Live2D body was specially made based on his beloved wife. That's why 'I love my wife' is his catchphrase, his morning greeting is 'Konyome,' and his evening greeting is 'Otsuyome.' He doesn't use a voice changer and uses his natural voice. He's easyg
Beat Mario and Friends' Hilarious Daily Life - Master descends! Chibi-kun's apprenticeship grand strategy and the wife's cry of love
The autumn air chilled the office window glass.
In the shared space of Cool and Create, the whiteboard read "5 Days Until the Sports Festival" in Amane's neat handwriting. Next to it, a note in Soyo's round letters—"The clouds look weird. Maybe rain."—was pinned with a yellow magnet.
Mario was bundling cables in front of the streaming booth. He pushed back his black short hair, his deep brown eyes fixed on his hands. On the wall hung a Live2D illustration modeled after his wife. Today, too, that smile quietly watched over him.
"My wife is the cutest in the world today, too."
The moment Mario murmured that, showing his fang-like tooth—
BANG!!
The office door flew open with force.
"Masterrrrr!!!"
A small shadow charged straight at Mario.
"Whoa!?"
Before Mario could even turn around, the shadow latched onto his leg.
"Master! I wanted to see you! I wanted to see you so, so much!"
Mario blinked rapidly.
He looked down at his feet.
There stood a small boy with a large backpack. He wore a wide-brimmed hat pulled down low, and from beneath it, round, bright eyes gazed up at Mario. His clothes were a bit rumpled, his shoes caked in mud. It looked like he'd run all the way here.
"Wh-who the hell are you?"
"I'm Chibi from Greatest Trading! I listened to your Touhou arrangements and became a VTuber! I've listened to your 'Wife Rock' a thousand times! No, two thousand times!"
Chibi-kun rattled off all of this in one breath while still clinging to Mario's leg.
"Wait, hold on. Greatest Trading? You mean that rival agency?"
"Yes! But I'm on your side, Master! I'm not an enemy! In fact, I'm the ally of all allies!"
"What the hell is 'the ally of all allies'?"
Mario tried to peel Chibi-kun off.
But Chibi-kun clung to Mario's leg tightly, like a koala.
"Master! Please teach me!"
Chibi-kun shouted at the top of his lungs.
"How do I love a wife!?"
The shared space fell silent.
"...Huh?"
Mario's hands stopped dead.
"I've been watching your streams forever, Master. Your face when you talk about your wife—it looks so happy. I want to love someone like that, too. But I don't know how."
Chibi-kun's voice was dead serious.
His round eyes stared up at Mario.
"So I want you to teach me, Master. How to love a wife."
Mario stared at Chibi-kun for a moment.
Then he slowly crouched down.
"...Are you serious?"
"I'm serious! I'd stake my life on it!"
"Who the hell stakes their life on learning about love?"
Mario gave a wry smile.
But Chibi-kun's eyes were sincere.
"...Listen, Chibi."
Mario lifted the brim of Chibi-kun's hat with a flick.
"Love isn't something you teach."
"Huh?"
"It's something you realize."
Mario's voice was quiet.
But it carried a certain weight.
"Liking someone isn't written in a textbook. I don't love my wife because someone taught me to. ...Before I knew it, I just did. That's all."
Chibi-kun listened intently, determined not to miss a single word.
"So don't rush. When you fall for someone, you'll realize it properly. That's what love is."
When Mario finished, Chibi-kun's eyes welled up in an instant.
"Master...! That's amazing! So deep! It's like lyrics!"
"Like lyrics? Come on, man."
Mario scratched his head, embarrassed.
"I've decided!"
Chibi-kun suddenly sprang to his feet.
"Until the Sports Festival, I'll stay here to study your wife-love!"
"WHAT!?"
Mario's voice cracked.
"Hold on! You're from a rival agency, right!? You can't just crash here!"
"It's fine! I'm small, so I won't take up space! I'll sleep in the corner!"
"That's not the problem!"
While Mario panicked, Tsumugi giggled beside him.
Her emerald-green short bob swayed as her golden, droopy eyes curved into a grin.
"Oh my. Isn't this interesting?"
"It's not 'interesting'—!"
"Why not, Mario? You've got yourself a disciple. As a missionary of wife-love, nurturing the next generation is important too, you know?"
Tsumugi raised a hand to her mouth and smirked.
"Missionary...?"
Mario's shoulders slumped.
"Yay! Master! I look forward to learning from you!"
Chibi-kun latched onto Mario's leg again.
"I said, stop clinging!"
"Your leg is warm, Master."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment!?"
At that moment, Amane stepped in front of the whiteboard.
The vice president of Cool and Create, her long violet hair tied in low twin tails. Her silver, narrow eyes fixed directly on Mario. Her usual ballpoint pen tucked behind her ear. A schedule book in her hand.
"Mario. Five days until the Sports Festival."
"Y-yeah. Right."
Mario answered while prying Chibi-kun off his leg.
"I've set the practice schedule."
Amane began writing on the whiteboard with sharp taps.
"October 18th, 10 AM: ball-toss practice. 1 PM: bread-eating race practice. October 19th, 9 AM: borrowing race practice. 2 PM: rehearsal. October 20th: full rest day. October 21st: final adjustments. October 22nd: Sports Festival main event."
Amane finished writing in one go and turned back to Mario.
"I will not accept objections."
"'I will not accept objections'? You..."
Mario stared at the schedule written on the whiteboard.
October 22nd.
That date squeezed his chest.
"Hey, Amane."
Mario timidly raised his hand.
"What is it?"
"It's about October 22nd..."
"The main event."
"Yeah, but before that, I have something I need to do."
"Something to do? What kind of something?"
Amane's silver eyes wouldn't let him escape.
"Well, um..."
Mario trailed off.
(How can I say I'm going to see my wife? But I can't lie, either.)
"Mario, is it about your wife?"
Amane hit the nail on the head.
"Wha—!?"
Mario's face turned bright red in an instant.
"I'm right, aren't I? Whenever you have trouble saying something, it's always about your wife."
"W-well, yeah..."
Mario nodded, resigned.
"I'm meeting my wife that day. We have an important promise."
"Then we'll have your wife come here."
Amane said it as if it were nothing.
"I'll contact her. I have her contact information on file as the office's emergency contact."
"W-wait, wait, wait, wait!"
Mario waved both hands frantically.
"My wife is bad with crowds! There's no way she can come to a place full of people like the Sports Festival!"
"It's fine. I'll support her properly."
"That's not the problem!"
"Then what is the problem?"
Amane tilted her head.
"I mean, my wife is..."
Mario's words caught in his throat.
His chest churned.
(I'm the only one who really understands my wife. How scary it is for her to be in front of people. How hard it is for her. Don't just casually say "it's fine.")
"My wife is—"
Mario clenched his fist.
"My wife is bad with crowds!!"
Mario's voice echoed through the office.
It was loud.
Louder than he'd ever been before.
The shared space fell completely silent.
Amane, Tsumugi, Chibi-kun—everyone was looking at Mario.
Mario snapped back to his senses.
"...Sorry. I yelled."
Mario hung his head.
"When it comes to my wife, I just can't help getting worked up. She really is bad with crowds. Even just doing voice-only streams took a lot of courage for her at first. There's no way I can drag her to a place like the Sports Festival venue."
Mario's voice trembled slightly.
"Protecting my wife is my job. And yet, because I'm bad at managing my own schedule, I almost forced her into something she can't handle. ...It's pathetic."
Mario let out a deep sigh.
That's when it happened.
"In that case,"
Tsumugi quietly spoke up.
"Why not deliver your wife's voice through the stream? Even if it's just her voice."
Mario looked up.
"Just her voice?"
"Yes. Even if she can't appear in public, her voice can reach people through the stream. We'll put her voice on the Sports Festival broadcast. The listeners will understand your wife-love, too."
Tsumugi narrowed her golden, droopy eyes and grinned.
"If it's just her voice, she doesn't have to show her face or herself. That should put her at ease, don't you think?"
"But if she doesn't want to speak..."
"Then we'll figure it out then. First, you should call your wife and ask her."
Mario fell silent at Tsumugi's words.
"Master! I want to help too!"
Chibi-kun said, bouncing up and down.
"I want to hear your wife's voice too! It's definitely a wonderful voice! Because it's the voice of the person you love most in the world, Master!"
"You really are straightforward, huh."
Mario gave a wry smile.
"Now then, shall we continue the synopsis?"
Suddenly, a low, husky voice boomed from the speakers.
"Whoa!? Nazo no Koe!?"
Mario looked up at the ceiling.
"Mario. You now stand at a great crossroads of choice. To call your wife, or not to call. This is the moment your strength of heart is tested."
"Don't test me without permission!"
"However, the story will not wait. Five days until the Sports Festival. Your decision will determine the course of this tale."
"I said, stop doing that!"
"Hmm. Your retorts are always so pleasant. That, too, is one of this story's charms."
"Flattery won't get you anything!"
Mario shouted at the speaker.
But his mind was elsewhere.
(Call my wife, huh.)
Mario reached for the phone in his pocket.
The lock screen showed a photo of him and his wife together.
Somewhere in a park, the two of them laughing.
His wife leaned against his shoulder, looking a little shy.
"Just her voice, huh..."
Mario murmured quietly.
"I wonder what she'll say."
Outside the window, autumn clouds drifted slowly by.
Five days until the Sports Festival.
Mario's heart was still undecided.
But the courage to make that call was slowly, slowly swelling in his chest.
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