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“Miro has gone through so much…”

The first words from the Manager were nothing short of unnerving.

What on earth is he trying to say?

– Miro is fidgeting, LOL

– Look at her shaking legs, haha

– Miro / Controversy

Of course, my legs couldn’t help but tremble.

All the things I had said to the Manager were replaying in my head right now.

What was the last thing I even said?

“If the company goes bankrupt, will you take the members and run? Better go for the interview first, right?”

And the fact that I joked about dropping stock prices with political comments?

Oh no…

I’ve said everything I shouldn’t have.

Of course, I didn’t think the Manager would actually spill the beans, but who knows?

And when I think of the countless things I can’t even remember saying… I felt terribly anxious.

“Okay, hold on!”

That’s why I had to stop for a moment.

“Yes?”

“If you expose me, then I’ll expose you too.”

“Wait, what??”

Thinking about it, did I just talk the whole time when I was on the phone with the Manager?

We talked together, right?

– LOL

– WTF

– What did she even say, haha

– Counter-expose, LOL

“What do you mean…?”

He seemed taken aback, clearly not expecting this.

Yeah, I guess a counter-expose wasn’t in the script.

The planning team was probably only thinking of our flustered reactions and the laughing viewers, right?

But even a mouse, when cornered, will bite the cat.

Wouldn’t they consider me a part of their VTuber family?

“What, what did I say?”

I smirked at the Manager’s bewilderment.

“Are you feeling confident?”

Honestly, I had nothing.

Or rather, I couldn’t even remember what the Manager had said.

But even if I had a good memory, could the Manager remember my words when I could barely keep track of mine?

Given that the Manager just said there were tons of things going on, he must be worried too.

For a moment, our eyes met.

Looking into his eyes made it seem like he wanted to say something.

Is this some weird bond? Or something like that?

‘Are you really going to go that far?’

‘Scared?’

The message in his gaze held no sense of connection at all.

And so, for a brief moment, we exchanged unspoken thoughts.

Then the Manager finally spoke.

“…Actually, Miro is the member I rely on the most.”

“Ahaha, right? Me too.”

– Me

– LOL

– Rock

– What the hell, haha

In the end, we had to reach a dramatic settlement.

“Wooo!”

“That’s a fake, fake!”

The members cheered as if they forgot it was their turn next, but it couldn’t be helped.

I was the one caught in the act.

“Normally, I often say ‘awkward’ things, but still…”

“What do you mean by awkward?”

“Hey, Haru, don’t interrupt the Manager!”

“Oh, I was just curious.”

– For real…

– I’m curious too!

– I say what I want, hahaha

“Awkward things? Um… about the company last time…”

“Then I’ll share what I heard last time…”

“…Just kidding. But I really do depend on you…”

– LOL

– What are they doing?

– Ugh

– Reveal the truth, haha

After that, the Manager’s words that came out were more like praise than any exposé.

Yeah, this is a real expose.

To think the good deeds done behind the scenes would come to light… what a touching content.

“Ah, you really don’t have to highlight this too much.”

– You asked for it

– Damn it

– Celestial Realm, reveal the truth

– Miro / Controversy

But honestly, even if I kind of threatened them, the praises the Manager spoke… were all true, weren’t they?

And given that it’s our one-year anniversary, it’s more the fault of The Six that they planned an exposé rather than giving us compliments.

“Anyway, we’ll wrap up Miro here and move on to the next.”

“Yes, now it’s Loa’s turn.”

– Why wrap up, damn it

– Please send Miro to the abyss…

– Exposé (not really)

– Loa… going to the abyss, right?

“Hey, wait a moment! I’m going to counter-expose too.”

Loa, who just moments ago was talking about uncovering the truth, made the same choice when it was her turn.

“…There will be no exceptions now.”

However, the Manager cut her off firmly, unlike with me.

Well, when talking to other members, he might have been more composed, right?

Since when we spoke, I threw the first rude comments, so he probably followed suit.

“Oh no…”

So from Loa, who wouldn’t be susceptible to threats like me, she had to face the music.

“First up, Loa…”

“Eeeek.”

And just like that, the serious exposé content began.

**

After the exposé finished, there was a brief break.

“Ugh…”

“My life is over.”

“I won’t step into the café tomorrow…”

From Loa to Anna, each member who had their embarrassing stories exposed slumped in their chairs, utterly drained.

But honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal; why was everyone making such a fuss?

“Cheer up! It was less shocking than expected, right?”

“Miro, just be quiet.”

“What level did Miro even think this would be?”

“Well, I thought it would be controlled, but was it even lighter than I expected?”

I shouldn’t have pushed back for no reason.

I should have just taken a little teasing and moved on.

“I didn’t really think of anything that would be a big problem.”

“Liar, what were you thinking? Just tell me.”

“Well, then, listen closely.”

If you want, sure.

I gestured subtly, and curious Anna couldn’t help but lean in closer to hear.

“Well…”

As I whispered the story I was secretly worried about…

“What, WHAT?!”

Anna’s eyes widened, and she stepped back a pace.

“Miro…”

“Yes?”

“L-Let’s keep our distance a bit…”

“Huh?”

Wait, is that all it is?

“I was just joking!”

“Scary, scary, I have one too!”

She has one too?

Seems like Anna bought some stocks of The Six as well.

Well, since the company is investing, wouldn’t it be hard not to buy stocks?

Especially with their recent growth spurt.

“When did you buy?”

“Me? Oh, not long ago.”

…Not long ago, huh.

By her expression, it seems she’s been holding them since the very beginning?

Maybe she’s one of the major shareholders after all.

“Good luck!”

“…Please don’t do that.”

Anyhow, after a brief break, we got a signal from the staff to resume the broadcast.

Wow, that break was longer than I thought? Did they have something to prepare?

More than that, I’m curious about what we’ll be doing now.

We already had a lengthy Q&A session and then the Manager’s exposé show.

We’ve already spent a lot of time, after all.

In fact, we could have just wrapped this up without a break as it was fine.

Special broadcasts aren’t actually meant to last too long.

Unlike casual personal streams that you can take it easy on, with viewers focused, if it drags on, both sides would just fatigue.

So as we resumed the broadcast and settled in our seats, the Manager stepped forward and pointed us to face the camera.

“Now, can you line up over there?”

Line up? Is there something in store?

I had doubts about suddenly being told to step up after sitting comfortably, but for now, I followed along and lined up.

As we did so, the 3D avatars that recognized our actions appeared side by side on the monitor.

Seeing this way, the characters felt oddly familiar now.

Thinking back, this wasn’t the second time I showed my face to the viewers instead of my actual self in a year?

…Well, the viewers probably searched for and found my real face by now anyway.

Anyway, despite trying to downplay compared to the second gens, I still thought the quality was good when we got these from The Six at the time.

At least they were miles better than the avatars I had bought with my own money.

Even now, it’s fascinating to see all of us appear fully in real-time monitoring.

Whoosh—

When I waved my arms, my Miro character also moved its arms in response.

– What’s Miro doing?

– So cute, lol

– Standing in a line makes it kind of grand

I lifted my foot slightly, and the Miro character lifted its foot too.

Technology has progressed remarkably.

I heard that back in the day, you had to wear a full-body suit for something like this.

If everyone had to wear full-body suits for the broadcast, that would’ve been amusing in its own way.

As I was imagining what it would be like with everyone in full-body suits, the Manager, fiddling with some device, came up and said,

“Alright, now please strike a pose.”

“A pose?”

“Just whatever feels comfortable.”

Suddenly being asked to pose left me a little flustered.

Pose? What should I even do?

“Hurry up, please.”

Hurry?

“P-Pose?”

“Is this good?”

In the confused moment, the members all settled into awkward stances.

Very uncomfortable gestures, indeed.

– What are they doing, lol

– So awkward

– Look at the creaking

They didn’t prep us beforehand!

It’s impossible to think of a pose on short notice.

There’s no official pose for the Celestial Realm, after all.

As we all stood there, each posing awkwardly…

“Uh?”

“What’s going on?”

The characters shown on the monitor began to shimmer.

What? Are we transforming?

Hold on a second.

Instinctively, I realized something important was happening.

This is crucial!

While the other members were stuck in awkward poses, I simply relaxed my stance and stood straight.

These crazy folks from The Six…

After all the hard work to set this up, they’re blitzing the reveal?

And they’re even making us pose awkwardly to be ridiculed later?

Would it kill them to give us a heads-up?

With such thoughts, the members’ bodies began glowing more and more.

And soon enough, light scattered from our feet, revealing our appearances.

 

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