Akubi Demonspade: The Queen and Her Overworked Producer
One karaoke stream changed everything.
Kenta, a rookie manager at the downtown streaming studio Million Production, is told by the CEO to become the exclusive handler for a streamer named Akubi. Standing at 140 centimeters with a self-proclaimed age of 2000 years, dressed as the Queen of Spades, she speaks in a husky, hyper voice—and when she sings, the world goes silent.
"[excited] So you're my new manager? You're tiny and cute!"
Her very first words leave Kenta speechless. But her streams a
Akubi Demonspade: The Queen and Her Overworked Producer - A husky-voiced queen who breaks three microphones upon their first meeting.
Three days had passed since that day in the president's office, when he'd been ordered to become Akubi Demonspade's exclusive manager.
Satou Kenta stood in front of Studio Two, on the second floor of Million Production's headquarters. The spring afternoon light poured through the hallway window, casting a white rectangle onto the old flooring.
(So it's finally time.)
He gently traced the old burn scar on the back of his right hand with his left thumb. He'd gotten it during college, while repairing audio equipment. Touching it had become a habit whenever he was anxious.
His heart was beating just a little faster.
Ever since that night on the convenience store bench, listening to the archive of Akubi's singing stream, he'd been imagining this moment. A voice that 1.2 million people craved. The Queen of Spades. A self-proclaimed two-thousand-year-old diva.
"...Alright."
Kenta adjusted the body bag slung over his shoulder and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
No answer.
He knocked again, harder.
"Um, it's Satou. Starting today, I'll be your exclusive manager—"
From beyond the door came a rustling sound. Something toppling over. Then, a low, sweet, slightly raspy voice echoed out.
"Come in. The door's unlocked."
Kenta took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.
—His vision was dyed red and black.
Inside the room stood a small figure.
A red and black dress. A spade emblem embroidered in silver thread on the chest. Silver hair falling straight to her waist. Large crimson eyes looking directly up at Kenta.
Her height: 140 centimeters. The number he'd read in the documents had become reality, exactly as written.
(She's small...)
No, calling her small would be rude. But she really was small.
She stood with her arms crossed atop a custom-made low desk in the center of the room. The hem of her dress was tangled in a bundle of cables scattered across the desk. On the floor, broken microphones were piled up like a mountain. At least ten of them.
"So you're the new manager? You're tiny and cute!"
Her husky voice reverberated through the small, soundproofed room.
Kenta was, for a moment, at a loss for words.
(Tiny and cute? Me?)
He was 170 centimeters tall, and a 140-centimeter queen had just called him "tiny." And cute, on top of that.
The gap between her intimidating presence and her cuteness made his head spin.
"Uh, um, I'm Satou Kenta. Starting today, I've been assigned as your exclusive—"
"I know. I heard it from the president. You were in an audio club, right? Can you fix equipment?"
"Y-yes. I'm fairly good at repairing audio gear, at least."
"Good. Then fix all of these. In three hours."
Akubi pointed at the mountain of broken microphones on the desk with a white finger.
"...All of them?"
"All of them. I've got a game stream later today. Have three working mics ready by then."
Repair over ten broken microphones and set up the streaming environment in three hours.
It was absurd. By any normal standard, it was far too absurd.
But.
"...I'll fix them for now."
What came out of his mouth was his usual catchphrase.
Kenta pulled his tool kit from his body bag and crouched down on the floor. He picked up one of the broken microphones. The shock mount had come off, and the cable's insulation was torn.
"Oh my, how obedient. I like you."
Akubi lightly hopped down from the desk. The hem of her dress fluttered outward.
"I'm Akubi Demonspade. The Queen of Spades. Two thousand years old. Nice to meet you."
Two thousand years old.
Kenta looked at her face, still gripping the screwdriver.
(She's joking... right?)
But those crimson eyes didn't look like they were joking.
"Nice to meet you, Akubi-san. Um, may I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Why are you streaming at this agency? There must be plenty of bigger ones out there."
Akubi tilted her head. Her silver hair swayed softly.
"Hmm. You ask interesting questions for your first day."
"S-sorry. That was out of line."
"It's fine. This is where I belong. That's all."
That's all, she said.
Kenta still didn't quite understand what those words meant.
—Three hours later.
Studio Two was ready for the stream.
Kenta, drenched in sweat, was doing a final check on the last microphone. From the broken mics, he'd managed to combine usable parts and revive three of them. He'd also reorganized all the cables that had been scattered across the floor.
"Huh, you actually fixed them. You're quite handy."
Akubi peered at his hands, looking impressed.
"For now, we can stream with this. Also, the wiring was a mess, so I separated the power lines from the audio lines. This way, noise shouldn't get in so easily."
"Impressive. Then let's begin. You sit in that chair over there and watch quietly."
Akubi stood in front of the custom low desk.
"Game stream, start!"
When she launched the streaming software, the stream screen appeared on the 4K monitor on the wall. Viewer comments began flowing down the right side of the screen.
'The Queen, I've been waiting!'
'Cute again today.'
'Wait, who's that in the back?'
"Today, my new manager came. He's tiny and cute."
'Manager lol'
'Tiny and cute lol'
'Queen, that's yourself, isn't it'
Kenta quietly stepped back so he wouldn't appear in the corner of the screen.
(Tiny and cute is you, isn't it...)
He retorted silently in his mind.
The game began.
The moment Akubi gripped the controller, she transformed, becoming fierce.
"There! Right there! Ahh, dodge it, you weakling!"
"Hey, why did I get hit! This boss is out of its mind!"
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
—Crack.
The microphone screamed.
"Ah."
Kenta saw the audio meter spike past its limit. Input overload. The shock mount came off, and the mic body rolled onto the floor.
'The audio clipped lol'
'The Queen's scream killed the mic lol'
'Again lol'
"Oh my, it broke. Manager, replacement mic!"
Kenta silently handed over the second microphone.
"Akubi-san, when you scream, please move a little away from the mic. Also, please keep the volume down a bit—"
"Shut up! This is my streaming style! Come on, mic number two!"
On the second mic, Akubi herself plugged the power cable and audio cable into the wrong ports.
A burst of static ran through, and harsh noise scattered from the speakers.
'Whoa, the noise is awful'
'The Queen did it again lol'
'Clumsy and cute'
"Hey, why isn't there any sound! Manager, fix it now!"
Kenta crawled along the floor, tracing the wiring.
(The power and audio are plugged in backwards...)
"Akubi-san, this cable and this cable go in different places. Look, there are color-coded stickers here."
"I don't know about that. They all look the same to me."
"Red is power, blue is audio. Please remember that."
"Hmph. You intend to teach a two-thousand-year-old queen how to tell colors apart?"
'The Queen's excuses are sloppy lol'
'Manager-san, keep up the training'
Kenta silently fixed the wiring.
The third microphone met its end when Akubi, saying "I heard this song two thousand years ago," swung the controller around and slammed the mic and its stand onto the floor.
Clang.
"Ah."
"...Ah."
Their voices overlapped.
'Third mic lol'
'The Queen is in top clumsy form today'
'Manager-san, I feel bad for you'
Kenta gathered the microphone debris scattered across the floor.
(It took me three hours to fix them, and all three were wiped out in thirty minutes...)
But strangely, he wasn't angry.
(This person really enjoys streaming, huh.)
Akubi didn't seem to think breaking the mics was a bad thing at all. No—rather, she seemed delighted that the stream was getting lively.
The viewer comments were filled with laughter and encouragement.
'The Queen is breaking her mic record lol'
'Manager-san, it's hell from today onward lol'
'But this duo, there's something good about them'
Kenta quickly combined parts from the broken mics and applied a makeshift fix.
"Akubi-san, this is the last one. If you break this one too, I'm stopping the stream."
"Oh my, you're surprisingly assertive."
"I'm not being assertive. It's just that we can't stream without equipment."
Akubi stared intently at Kenta's face.
"Hmm. ...Fine. I'll be careful next time."
It was a slightly more honest reply than usual.
—The game stream ended.
It was past five in the evening.
Kenta pinched the collar of his sweat-soaked shirt and fanned air into it.
"Good work, Akubi-san. Today's peak concurrent viewers was thirty thousand. That's amazing."
"Thirty thousand? That's on the low side for me. I wasn't even trying with the game stream."
"You weren't trying?"
"Of course not. My true power is in singing. I can't show my full strength unless it's a singing stream."
Having said that, Akubi switched the streaming software screen.
"Then, let's do one last song. You fixed the wiring properly, right? Then I can sing."
"Huh, right now? But we haven't checked the equipment—"
"It's fine. You fixed it, didn't you? Then it's fine."
Akubi set a new microphone on the stand.
"...Listen. This is my song."
She closed her eyes.
—With the first note, the world changed.
A low, deep, sweet voice filled the soundproofed studio.
Kenta's skin trembled.
(What is this?)
It was incomparable to the archive he'd heard through earphones. The live voice shook the air and resonated directly into his bones.
Overtones layered atop the low register. The phrase "husky voice effect" from the documents crossed his mind.
(It's physically vibrating.)
Every fine hair on his arms stood on end.
Viewer comments began pouring down like a waterfall.
'What is this'
'I got goosebumps'
'I'm shaking'
'Divine again today'
'The Queen's singing is just unfair'
The concurrent viewer count was leaping higher and higher in the corner of the monitor.
Thirty thousand. Fifty thousand. Eighty thousand.
'Akubi Burst is here!!!'
'Tripled in an instant lol'
'This voice is seriously insane'
Kenta forgot to breathe, listening to her sing.
(Amazing, doesn't even—)
The song ended.
Silence returned to the studio.
Akubi slowly opened her eyes.
"...How was it?"
Kenta realized his voice wouldn't come out properly.
"That voice... it's incredible."
His honest impression came straight out of his mouth.
For just a moment, Akubi looked down as if embarrassed.
"...When you've lived two thousand years, this much is normal."
But her voice was just a little softer than when they'd first met.
—The stream ended.
Kenta was cleaning up the equipment. Akubi lay on the simple bed in the corner of the studio, still in her dress.
"Akubi-san, why don't you change? The stream's over, and comfortable clothes would be better."
Akubi, still gazing at the ceiling, murmured quietly.
"Because if I take it off, I return to my real self."
Kenta stopped his hands mid-coil on the cable.
(Return to her real self?)
What did that mean?
"What do you mean by that—"
"You're coming again tomorrow, right?"
Akubi said it as if to cut off his question.
"...Yes. I'll come."
"Then it's fine. ...Goodnight."
Akubi closed her eyes, looking relieved.
Kenta couldn't ask anything more.
(What is this person carrying?)
Her strange attachment. Those words about returning to her real self if she took it off.
There was so much he didn't understand.
Kenta quietly left the studio, careful not to wake her.
Just before stepping into the hallway, a graffiti on the wall caught his eye.
'Monologue of the 2000th Year'
He'd seen this graffiti that day too, when he first laid eyes on this room.
(Two thousand years old, huh.)
Kenta traced the words with his finger once more.
—That night.
At the first-floor reception, Kenta was stopped by Tanabe Yuki.
"Satou-san. This arrived addressed to Akubi-san."
Tanabe, expressionless as always, held out a white envelope.
"Ah, thank you. I'll give it to her tomorrow
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