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 Soliloquy on the 2000th Year and a Gatecrasher Streamer
The Hummingbird District at night shows a different face than it does during the day. It's the hour when streamers all head to their studios at once. Young people hauling equipment on their backs, staff carrying convenience store bags, and friends calling out to each other—"How'd your stream go today?" The whole town seemed to breathe, slow and easy.
Satou Kenta walked through those night streets, staring at his phone screen.
(Three more mics again...)
The screen showed a log of Akubi's stream from today. She'd screamed too much during a gaming stream and destroyed a microphone. Midway through a singing segment, she'd miswired the equipment and the audio came out garbled. Apparently the viewers had flooded the chat with laughing comments like "Good to see you're as energetic as ever."
Kenta shifted the body bag slung over his shoulder. Inside were a tool kit and a notebook crammed full of notes.
(The notebook's already more than half full.)
Two weeks had passed since he'd become Akubi's exclusive manager.
The first three days, he'd been too busy just frantically repairing equipment to think about anything else. Fixing broken mics, reconnecting torn cables, rebuilding the streaming schedule. And the moment he finished, a new report of destruction would come in.
(It's like disaster recovery, every single day.)
Kenta smiled wryly.
The three-story building of Million Production's headquarters came into view. Pale blue neon reflected off its weathered outer walls. The reception desk lights were already off. Tanabe Yuki had long since gone home.
Kenta entered the building through the back door.
(Tonight's repairs too.)
He climbed the stairs. Walked down the second-floor hallway. When he stood before the door to Studio Two, he heard faint noises from inside.
(She's still streaming?)
It was one in the morning. Akubi's streaming slot for today should have ended long ago.
Kenta knocked softly on the door.
"Akubi-san, it's Satou. Are you still awake?"
No reply. Instead, he heard rustling, and the sound of something falling to the floor.
"...Can I come in?"
Kenta slowly opened the door.
The room was a disaster zone, same as always. Cables tangled like snakes on the floor, broken microphones lying on the desk. On the shelf against the wall, spare mics were lined up neatly—but there were clearly fewer than there had been two weeks ago.
And on the simple bed at the back of the room, Akubi Demonspade lay curled up.
A red and black dress. A spade emblem gleaming at her chest. Silver hair spread across the pillow. Her crimson eyes were closed, and her small shoulders rose and fell slowly.
(She's asleep...)
Kenta killed his footsteps and entered the room.
It was the first time he'd seen her sleeping face. During streams, she was always high-energy, loud, like a typhoon of a person. But now, she looked so quiet, so small.
(A hundred and forty centimeters, huh.)
Seeing her again like this, she really was tiny. Curled up on the bed, she looked just like a child.
Kenta picked up the broken microphone lying on the floor. The shock mount had come off, and the grille was dented. She must have slammed it against the desk in excitement during today's gaming stream.
(That makes four...)
He opened his notebook. Akubi's list of eccentric behaviors filled the pages.
・Throws microphones during streams (three times)
・Demands extra-spicy cup ramen at midnight (five times)
・Chases cats that wander into frame and falls over (twice)
・Rewires equipment on her own and shorts it out (four times)
・Orders eight servings of Uber Eats and insists she'll "eat it all alone" (once)
Kenta sighed.
(Why eight servings...)
That day, she really had polished off eight servings of ramen by herself. He couldn't forget the satisfied look on her face when she'd said "Thanks for the meal" at the end of the stream.
"...Nn."
On the bed, Akubi stirred.
Kenta hurriedly closed his notebook.
"Ah, did I wake you? Sorry."
Akubi slowly opened her eyes. Her crimson irises reflected Kenta hazily.
"...What're you doing here. At this hour."
Her voice was far softer than her usual husky tone, and a little hoarse.
"Repairing equipment. I heard three more mics got destroyed today."
"Ahh... sorry. I did it again."
Akubi sat up. The hem of her dress was disheveled, and silver hair slid off her shoulder.
"You don't have to apologize. It's my job."
Kenta said this while pulling out his tools.
"...You really don't complain, do you. Normally, people would get angrier. They'd say, 'How many more do you have to break before you're satisfied?'"
"Getting angry won't fix the mics."
"That's not a manager's line."
Akubi laughed quietly.
Kenta began disassembling the broken microphone. Turning the screwdriver, checking the detached parts. He'd done this work so many times now. He never thought the skills he'd built in his university's audio club would come in handy like this.
"You do this every night?"
Akubi peered at Kenta's hands from the bed.
"More or less. After the stream ends, I collect the broken equipment and fix what I can."
"Wait, so you come here every night?"
"I do. While you're asleep, I repair things quietly and go home."
"I didn't know... that someone was coming while I was sleeping."
Akubi hugged herself, gripping the sleeve of her dress tightly.
"Of course you wouldn't notice. I'm not sneaking in—I walk in through the front."
"That's even scarier."
Kenta checked the broken wiring inside the mic and pulled out his soldering iron.
(Fourth one today, huh...)
His hands were a little tired.
But he didn't mind.
(I'm being useful to someone.)
That feeling kept Kenta going.
"Hey, Kenta."
Suddenly, Akubi called his name.
"...Yes?"
Kenta set down the soldering iron and turned around.
Akubi was hugging her knees on the bed. The hem of her dress hid her small feet. The streetlight shining through the window cast a pale glow on her silver hair.
"What do you think of me?"
Kenta was at a loss for words for a moment.
(What do I think of her...)
"Uh, well... I think you're an amazing streamer. Your singing voice is unfair-level good, and your stream energy is, um, unique."
"That's not what I meant."
Akubi buried her face in her knees.
"A two-thousand-year-old woman who breaks mics every night, shorts out equipment, and eats eight servings alone... doesn't that put you off?"
Kenta thought for a moment, then answered honestly.
"It doesn't. If anything, never knowing what'll happen next keeps things interesting."
"...Is that a compliment?"
"It is. Probably."
Akubi lifted her face. Her crimson eyes looked straight at Kenta.
"...You're strange."
"I get that a lot."
Kenta turned back to repairing the microphone. The tip of the soldering iron touched the delicate components. He focused.
For a while, silence flowed between them.
Only the sounds of repair echoed in the quiet room.
"Hey, Kenta."
She called his name again.
"What is it?"
Akubi was looking out the window from the bed. The streetlight outlined her profile.
"Try living two thousand years. Everyone you care about leaves before you do."
Kenta's hands stopped.
"I've always been alone. Even if I get close to someone, eventually there's a goodbye. So I told myself it's better to be alone from the start. That's how I've lived."
Akubi's voice was trembling.
It was like a completely different person from that powerful husky voice she used during streams.
"But lately, I've realized something. For the first time, I'm afraid of losing someone. Because I've always been alone. I never knew what that fear felt like. I never knew—and yet now... just thinking about you disappearing tomorrow makes my chest ache."
Kenta couldn't say anything.
He didn't know what to say.
(Two thousand years... is that really true?)
Until now, he'd thought the self-proclaimed two-thousand-year-old thing was half a joke. But her voice now made him feel the depth of loneliness of someone who had truly lived alone for an impossibly long time.
"...I won't disappear."
That was all he managed to say.
Akubi slowly turned toward Kenta.
"...Really?"
"Really. I'm your manager. I won't just up and leave."
"...Can you promise?"
"I can."
Kenta noticed his own heartbeat had grown embarrassingly loud.
(Why is my heart pounding like this?)
Something deep in his chest felt warm.
What was this?
(I want to protect her.)
The words surfaced naturally.
He wanted to protect Akubi. He didn't want to leave this small queen alone.
(Ah. So that's it.)
Kenta was beginning to faintly realize his own feelings.
But he still didn't have the courage to put them into words.
"...Thanks."
Akubi murmured quietly and lay back down on the bed.
"Goodnight, Kenta. See you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Akubi-san."
Kenta resumed his repairs.
But his hands were shaking, and he couldn't solder properly.
(This is bad.)
His heartbeat seemed to echo through the quiet room.
—The next day.
The Hummingbird shopping district was bustling with streamers in the evening.
Kenta walked through the arcade with Akubi. Today was the day of the streamer meetup at Cafe Arpeggio.
"Hey, Kenta, what kind of outfits do you think most streamers will be wearing today? Do I stand out too much in this dress?"
Akubi was in her usual red and black dress. The spade emblem at her chest glittered in the sunset.
"I don't think you stand out. I think you're fine just as you always are, Akubi-san."
"You think so? Okay then."
Akubi started walking with a skipping gait. Her small hundred-and-forty-centimeter body wove nimbly through the crowd.
"Ah, wait, Akubi-san! You'll get lost!"
Kenta hurried after her.
Cafe Arpeggio was near the center of the shopping district. A wooden sign with handwritten letters read "Cafe Arpeggio." The scent of coffee and the sound of jazz piano drifted from inside.
"We're here! Let's go in!"
Akubi pushed the door open with force.
"Welcome."
From behind the counter, the owner, Mori Sachiko, appeared. Fifty-eight years old, former voice actress. Her salt-and-pepper hair was tied back in a single bundle, and she stood in an apron.
"Oh, Akubi-chan. Today's the meetup, right? I've saved you seats in the back."
"Sachiko-san! Bring me an Uji matcha latte first! The hot one!"
"Yes, yes, I know."
Sachiko began preparing cups with practiced hands.
Kenta looked around the cafe.
(That's a lot of people...)
More than ten streamers were already gathered inside. Everyone wore distinctive outfits. A woman with cat ears, a man in a military uniform, a girl in gothic lolita. It was a streamer meetup, after all—it looked like a cosplay convention.
"Akubi-san, where should I sit?"
"Next to me, obviously! Come on, over here!"
Akubi pulled Kenta by the hand and sat down at a table in the back.
"Ah, my hand, your hand..."
Akubi's small hand was gripping Kenta's firmly.
(Her hand is cold...)
But it didn't feel bad.
"What's wrong, Kenta? Your face is red."
"Huh!? Ah, no, it's just, a little hot in here."
Kenta hurriedly let go.
"Fufu, cute."
Akubi laughed quietly and opened the menu.
The meetup began.
Streamers introduced themselves one after another. Subscriber counts, streaming genres, recent worries. Kenta listened to the other streamers' stories as a manager.
(Everyone's dealing with their own struggles.)
One streamer was troubled by hate comments. Another lamented not being able to afford equipment upgrades. Yet another complained about their agency's treatment.
"Akubi-chan, how've you been lately? I heard you got a new manager."
Sachiko asked while setting the Uji matcha latte on the table.
"That's right! His name is Kenta, and he's super serious, and he repairs my equipment every night!"
Akubi patted Kenta's shoulder.
"Oh, so you're Akubi-chan's new manager."
Sachiko stared
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