Reincarnated into a World of VTubers, Challenging the Strongest While Staying the Weakest - Gray City — Where the Weakest Belongs

The morning light illuminated the highway. Takuto stopped walking and took a deep breath. The scent of grass and earth filled his chest. Kanata's pink hair, walking beside him, swayed gently in the wind. "Are you okay? Not tired?" Her golden eyes peered up at Takuto's face from below. "Yeah, I'm fine. More importantly, do you think we'll make it by today?" "Yeah! If we keep going straight down this road, we'll reach the east gate soon! You should be able to see it!" Kanata hopped lightly. The star-shaped earring on her left ear caught the morning sun and sparkled. The two had been attacked by a small Eclipse unit yesterday on their way to Luminare. A group wearing black masks. People who steal streamers' comments. Takuto couldn't fight. He had no magic, no sword. The only thing he could do was read Eclipse's attack patterns and give Kanata instructions. In his pocket was a fragment of black crystal left behind by the enemy in that battle. Cold. Sometimes he touched it with his fingertips to confirm. As if telling himself that it hadn't been a dream. Ahead on the road, a gate came into view in the distance. A massive stone gate. Embedded above it was a screen of a size he'd never seen before. "That's..." "It's footage from the Grand Screen Tower! The east gate's screen shows the same thing!" Takuto stopped in his tracks. It must have been sixty meters tall. From the tip of the enormous tower rising at the city's center, a band of light stretched into the sky. That band was delivering footage all the way to the gate's screen. On the screen, a streamer in silver armor was fighting a giant rock monster. Viewer comments flowed along the edges of the screen like fireworks. "That's Gardo-san, an A-rank! He's super popular, ranked high in this month's viewer count!" "...So this is the streaming city, Luminare." Takuto murmured quietly. Akihabara, where he'd lived in his original world. There had been huge outdoor screens playing footage of popular streamers. That scenery and the sight before him now overlapped in his mind. But this wasn't Akihabara. It wasn't a game or an anime. This was a real world of magic and swords. "Come on, let's go! Once we pass through the gate, it's even more amazing!" Kanata tugged at Takuto's sleeve. They passed through the east gate. In that instant, Takuto held his breath. Countless lights. Inside the city, palm-sized floating screens—mirror panels—were floating everywhere, dozens upon dozens of them. Text streamed across each and every panel. "Amazing... or rather, it's making me dizzy." Takuto honestly voiced what he was thinking. "Ahaha, everyone's like that at first. I said the same thing when I came from the countryside." Kanata laughed lightly. Her golden eyes sparkled, bathed in the city's light. On the cobblestone streets, several people who looked like streamers were walking about. Some with swords at their hips, some clutching staves, some even carrying small dragons on their arms. The townspeople made way for the streamers. A small child waved at a streamer passing by. When the streamer waved back, the child's face lit up brightly. "Everyone really respects streamers, huh." "Yeah. Because streamers protect the city from monsters. The more popular a streamer is, the more comments they get, so they can become stronger." Kanata turned her gaze toward a merchant arranging fruit at the edge of the road. "Look at that. See how there's a 'Fresh' comment attached to the basket? That's using the power of viewer comments to keep the fruit lasting longer." When Takuto squinted, he saw a small mirror panel next to the fruit basket, with words slowly scrolling: "Looks fresh and delicious" and "Best morning harvest." "The power of comments is being used for the city's infrastructure too..." "That's right. In this world, comments are just as important as electricity or water." Takuto remembered when Kanata had taught him how this world worked. Viewers' support and emotions directly transform into magical power, physical strength, and defense. Takuto, with zero comments, couldn't do anything. ...No. It wasn't that he couldn't do anything. He'd understood a little from yesterday's battle. He couldn't fight. But he could observe and think. He placed his hand on the chest pocket of his gray hoodie. His fingers touched the VSPO! can badge. "Takuto? What's wrong?" "Nothing. More importantly, where are we headed?" "The Streaming Bureau! We need to do the paperwork first. And we also need to find an inn to stay at starting today." The two began walking. As they advanced toward the city center, the crowds grew thicker. The air was charged with heat. The savory aroma of grilled skewers drifted over, and Takuto's stomach growled quietly. "Hungry? Let's get something to eat after the Streaming Bureau!" "...You heard that." "I heard it loud and clear!" Kanata laughed brightly. That smile looked completely different from the tense expression she'd worn during yesterday's battle. Maybe the city's atmosphere was energizing her. Before long, a large stone building came into view. Five stories tall. Above the entrance hung a sign reading "Streaming Bureau." "This is the office that manages us live-commentary adventurers. They also issue mirror panels here." A long line had formed in front of the gate. Mostly young people. Everyone was waiting for something with nervous expressions. "That's registration for new streamers. There's an exam, so everyone's nervous." "Can anyone get a mirror panel?" "No. There's an exam. To become a live-commentary adventurer, you first have to pass the Streaming Bureau's test." Kanata stopped and turned to face Takuto. "Takuto... you don't have a mirror panel, right? So, explaining things to the staff might be a little nerve-wracking." Kanata's voice grew slightly quieter. A person outside the streaming system. Someone who shouldn't exist in this world. Takuto was reminded anew of the situation he was in. "It's fine. I'll just tell them the truth." "Okay. I'll be with you!" Kanata clenched her fist tightly. They entered the Streaming Bureau. High ceilings. Polished stone floors lined with numerous service windows. The air was cool. A man in what appeared to be a staff uniform passed in front of Takuto and the others. He glanced at Takuto and stopped. "...You there, where's your mirror panel?" The man's voice was low, laced with caution. Takuto answered honestly. "I don't have one. I came here directly from my original world." "Original world...?" The staff member's expression changed. "A person from outside the streaming system...!?" A stir. Another staff member at the reception desk turned around. The young aspiring streamers waiting in line also looked over, wondering what was happening. "Hey, did you hear that? There's someone from outside the streaming system." "That's something that only exists in legends... No way." Whispered voices, but clearly audible. Curious gazes pierced Takuto from all directions. (They're looking at me like that fruit merchant earlier—like I'm some kind of curiosity.) Takuto thought to himself. He wasn't afraid. Just uncomfortable. "I'm the one who brought him here!" Kanata stepped forward. "He saved me from Eclipse's people yesterday! When my mirror panel was about to be jacked, he was there, and that's why I barely managed to destroy it in time!" The surroundings stirred again. Eclipse. That name was synonymous with "terror" in this city. The staff member furrowed his brow, looking troubled. That was when it happened. "How noisy." A cold voice cut through the commotion. Takuto turned toward the voice. Long silver hair. Tied high in a ponytail. Cold blue eyes. A small beauty mark beneath her left eye. A mirror panel floated right beside her hand. Her presence alone made it clear. This person could change the atmosphere of a room. The surrounding aspiring streamers quickly parted to make way. "It's Rinne-sama..." "An S-rank... the real thing." Rinne Krause. Hearing that name, Takuto held his breath. She was tall. At least 172 centimeters. Her silver hair shimmered with even the slightest movement. She looked down at Takuto directly with her blue eyes. "You. You don't have a mirror panel, do you." "...No, I don't." "Where did you come from?" It was less a question and more an interrogation. "From my original world. I was attending a vocational school, and the next thing I knew, I'd collapsed in a grassland. I have no connection to Eclipse." "Can you prove that?" Rinne's blue eyes pierced through Takuto. Prove it, she was saying. Takuto took his smartphone out of his chest pocket. "This is from my original world. It won't even turn on here." Rinne glanced at the smartphone, then returned her gaze to Takuto's face. "Objects can be fabricated as much as one likes. This doesn't prove you're not an Eclipse spy." "But—! Takuto saw through the fake comments in my stream logs! He also exposed Eclipse's trap!" Kanata raised her voice. "Kanata, you trust people too easily. Have a little more awareness as a streamer." It was a cold, dismissive way of speaking. Kanata pouted, clearly annoyed. "Rinne's always like that! Jumping to conclusions without listening!" Invisible sparks flew between the two. Takuto's intuition told him: these two weren't just acquaintances. Their relationship ran deeper. Rinne let out a small sigh. "There are too many eyes here. Let's move somewhere else." Rinne turned on her heel and began walking. Takuto and Kanata exchanged glances. "...Let's go. She may look like that, but she does listen." "Got it." They proceeded deeper into the Streaming Bureau. A dimly lit corridor. Staff members quickly stepped aside at the sight of Rinne. Rinne entered a room on the second floor. It was a small room like a conference room. A single wooden table in the center. An old map hung on the wall. Rinne didn't sit in a chair; she stood by the wall. "Sit." Takuto and Kanata sat down side by side. "I'll ask directly. Are you truly unconnected to Eclipse?" "I'm unconnected. Yesterday was the first time I fought them. And as Kanata said, I saw through their trap." Rinne narrowed her eyes just slightly. "Saw through it, did you. A jacking technique that even streamers find difficult?" "The flow of comments was unnaturally interrupted. Especially a comment saying 'Kanata is in danger'—it kept repeating with the exact same string of characters. Normal viewers don't spam like that." Rinne stared intently into Takuto's eyes. "...How unusual. A person outside the streaming system who can read the habits of comments to that extent." "I've been watching streams my whole life in my original world. The comment section is a mirror that reflects the streamer." Rinne operated the mirror panel at her hand. The panel displayed comment logs from past streams. "What you see here are records of comments sent to my past streams. Looking at these, do you notice anything?" Takuto turned his eyes to the panel. A massive volume of comments flowed in chronological order. "Rinne-san is too strong!" "Beautiful as always" "Next, please do S-rank countermeasures" "Show us more battles" "Legendary episode updated!" "As long as Rinne-sama is here, we're fine" "Looking forward to it" "Hurry up with the next one" Takuto wasn't just looking at the wording of the comments—he was examining the times they were sent, the intervals, even the punctuation usage. In the stream footage, Rinne was calmly defeating monsters. Efficient, perfect movements. But. "...There's something that bothers me a little." "Speak." "Comments like 'We're fine' or 'Relieved'—they do exist. But their frequency is low. There are far more voices demanding the next thing than there are words of support." Takuto continued. "A portion of the people watching your streams are demanding too strongly that you be a 'str

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Episode 3

Name: Reincarnated into a World of VTubers, Challenging the Strongest While Staying the Weakest
Author: Novelia

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