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[What game is Miro playing right now?]

So far, it’s the best game Miro has played, lol.

– It’s relatively popular in the West.

– I was thinking of buying it too, but there’s no discount.

Is Miro really paying full price?

– Yep.

– For Miro, discount doesn’t matter, lol.

[Miro keeps bringing up Romance of the Three Kingdoms while playing a medieval game.]

Honestly, I can see that too, lol.

– Miro feels like she’s channeling Romance of the Three Kingdoms, lol.

– For real, lol.

– Every time she sees a rogue, it’s like, “Black Mountain Bandits! Yellow Turbans!” so annoying.

– You’re having fun, aren’t you?

– Yeah, it does look fun to play.

[But today is the debut of the 4th generation; is Miro still playing that game?]

Everyone else is checking out the new kids, but is Miro not going?

– Yep.

– She made it clear she’s not going.

Why is that?

– She’s been like that since the 3rd generation.

– Maybe she’s too busy taking care of the lower generation.

– Considering it’s Miro, she’s probably got good reasons, lol.

[The reason Miro isn’t taking care of her juniors…]

(Celestial Realm character group meme)

There’s so many people even now that it’s overwhelming, lol.

– Ah, lol.

– Wow, are six more being added each year? lol.

– It seems like they’ll keep reducing the number of new generations.

– Six is a lot, lol.

[Looking at it this way, the Celestial Realm really has heavyweights.]

(Celestial Realm character group meme)

Each one has at least 100,000 subscribers; when they go live, they get thousands of viewers, lol.

Every year, six more of those are added, lol.

– Wow, lol.

– That’s insane, lol.

– For real, at this rate, they’re going to dominate the market.

[The reason the Celestial Realm is legendary…]

(Actor Kim Soo-hyun advertisement meme)

Super popular actor Kim Soo-hyun is also a part of it, wow.

– Wow, wow, wow.

– Ah, lol.

– For real, the level is insane, lol.

– Wow, so pretty, what’s that about?

– It’s a cosmetics ad.

[Miro, but am I the only one seeing her on TV a lot lately?]

Whenever I flip channels, she shows up at least once, lol.

– For real.

– She’s just been doing broadcasts lately; when did she film that?

– It seems like they’re slowly releasing things she filmed before.

[No idea how the 4th generation will be released.]

Are there more characters to come? lol.

– There are plenty of characters, lol.

– Are they going to come out like the 3rd generation’s “Super Nerd”?

– Could be.

– The 3rd generation was a success, you know, lol.

[The ones who are really in trouble…]

Straight up the 2nd generation, ugh.

Even now, they’re caught in between the 1st and 3rd generations, and if the 4th generation comes out, won’t they be doomed??

– They’ll probably have to deal with the 3rd generation too, lol.

– Isn’t the 3rd generation strong?

– The 2nd generation was originally strong, too, lol.

– The 2nd generation is doing reasonably well, but they must feel it’s unfair, lol.

[So, the 3rd generation… Can this fella be surpassed?]

(Profile photo of Anna)

Right below is the unofficial leader of the Celestial Realm, Dae Anna.

Miro would just need a hand gesture from Anna to quit the broadcast and retire from showbiz, for sure…

– Is that you again…

– Anna’s inevitable, lol.

– Is Anna doing well on broadcasts these days?

– Consistently, lol.

– Just steadily climbing, that’s Anna for you.

– Anna’s broadcasts are easy to watch.

[But honestly, the 1st generation… ugh.]

Just a water rocket, lol.

They just took advantage of a blue ocean back then.

– What about Miro? Even if the Celestial Realm has 132 generations, I don’t think anyone will surpass Miro.

– Honestly, I’ll admit Miro’s on another level.

– And what about Dae Hwang Anna?

– Even Anna, I kind of get it…

– What about Loa?

– Loa… lol, she got cut in half in the 3rd generation’s Rain segment.

– Are you done talking?

– (Loa smiling emoji)

– Uh oh, the Loa fans are here, oh no.

– You’re done for, lol.

[But the really scary part is…]

(Celestial Realm donation earnings chart)

Loa is still number one in donations for the Celestial Realm…

– Over there, they throw around 100,000-won punches!

– Are they really that loaded?

– It seems like Loa’s been slowly taking off her clothes lately, and it somehow looks better.

– LOL, yeah, it seems like she’s open about it.

– Loa, who has maintained that concept for over two years, is indeed a pro.

[The 4th generation has finally debuted.]

(Capture of the debut broadcast)

Avatar looks amazing;; they did a great job.

– It’s just an avatar, lol; The Six always nails it.

– For real, they were top-tier since the 2nd generation.

– And it’s six this time too.

[What the heck?? Why is there a Japanese person here?]

(Capture of the debut broadcast)

What does it mean to have Japanese nationality listed here? lol.

– Are you serious? lol.

– Yep, lol.

– Reverse import, lol.

– Wow, now Japanese people are debuting here, lol.

[??? Why is Miro acting like that?]

(Capture of Miro’s broadcast clip)

She wasn’t interested but rushed over the moment she heard there are six people.

– For real.

– Is it different from what she heard beforehand?

[Miro’s super funny move, lol.]

(Capture of Miro’s broadcast clip)

The instant she hears a Japanese person say something, she figures out their nationality, lol.

– Ah, lol, I knew that accent!

– For real, it sounds just like the Japanese person who speaks Korean in Miro’s broadcast.

– Are they not the same person?

– I don’t think so, lol; their voices are way too different.

– Would they even come? They’re doing super well locally.

[So why the heck is Miro reacting like that??]

Did she know beforehand, but the number of people is different?

– Other generations probably won’t know the details about the debuting generation.

– But Miro should have a clue.

– True, lol.

– For Miro, it’s not surprising if she knows, lol.

[Isn’t the dependency on Miro way too high for the Celestial Realm?]

What if suddenly Moon Chang-sik marries her and she retires?

– For real…

– The day that happens is the end of the Celestial Realm, lol.

– Would she really retire? Even if she gets married, she’d probably keep going.

– Can that happen?

– Why couldn’t a married VTuber work, lol?

[Miro seems more like prey for the many wolves out there, lol.]

Of course she’s pretty, but at her age, she’s earning well, building a solid career, and her personality is pretty decent; above all, her hobby is playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms at home, lol.

– How can a woman in her 20s have a hobby like playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms at home? lol.

– A modern virtuous wife who plays Romance of the Three Kingdoms at home, wow.

– A virtuous wife?

– For someone like Miro, it’s fitting, lol.

– So there’s a big tiger and dragon right next to her.

– An alpha male rivalry, wow.

– The competition is intense, lol.

[You wolves, Miro won’t get married!]

She promised me she wouldn’t get married until she turns 30, sorry.

– Didn’t you mess things up with Anna?

– LOL.

– Ugh, LOL.

– Anna, please get married, lol.

***

After the broadcast.

It was late in the evening, but I couldn’t restrain my curiosity and called the Manager.

[Ah, Miro.]

“Who is the Japanese person from the 4th generation?”

[Oh, it’s Sun-hee.]

“What is going on?”

I mean, it’s one thing for a fluent Korean-speaking Japanese VTuber to be named Sun-hee.

But where did they find a Japanese person?

Isn’t our fan-service line a bit off with that?

The sudden full throttle of the 4th generation is somewhat shocking.

“Is the 3rd generation doing really well?”

In conclusion, it seems to be the case.

Did the 3rd generation do that well?

So much so that it could target that fandom specifically?

[…Considering the timing of the debut?]

“Ah.”

The Manager’s slightly hesitant response hinted at the direction The Six might be headed.

So, is The Six really going that way?

“If this keeps up, won’t ordinary people completely stop watching?”

However, I feel like there would be a considerable blow if they neglect the general audience…

[Oh, but regular people are gradually becoming aware of the 4th generation.]

Yet The Six’s Manager seemed to have plans, saying those words.

“In what way?”

[Starting from the 1st generation, who has the least burden, and gradually going down. People watch the 2nd generation, think ‘Hmm, they’re okay?’ and then slide down to the 3rd generation, and then next is the 4th generation….]

“We aren’t a filter or a funnel…”

Isn’t that just saying they will sift through everyone?

It feels like they’re leaving everything from the biggest block to the smallest grain tightly bound within the Celestial Realm.

“Then who is responsible for the audience influx?”

Here’s the problem.

What about the influx interest?

The newly appearing 4th generation is so far from the general audience’s sentiment; if they rely only on otaku fans, won’t it draw a blank from ordinary viewers?

If that’s the case, the promotional benefits of selecting a new generation will be minimized, and the influx itself…

[The influx keeps hitting record highs.]

“Excuse me? Seriously?”

[Thanks to the top offspring of the Celestial Realm.]

“What… me?”

At that point, I realized why The Six came up with such a strategy.

These mad capitalistic corporations!

So that the entrance of viewers, spurred by my own active external activities, can be filtered and neatly retained…

“But if you make the 4th generation tailored for ordinary people, wouldn’t that retain even more viewers?”

[It turns out that the 3rd generation carries a more loyal viewer base compared to the 2nd generation.]

“Ah.”

…So you’re planning to lay a sturdy foundation.

Honestly, if casual fans come in, they’ll likely just spend about three exciting months before jetting off to enjoy life outside.

Instead, aim for those who might be long-time viewers for the next two or three years?

It felt like a truly long-term corporate perspective.

These relentless guys.

“So, did you go to Japan to find people?”

[Oh, actually, there’s a bit of a story.]

“What kind of story?”

[We were originally planning to have 5 members in the 4th generation.]

“I thought so.”

I saw a previous training session where they had five members practicing together.

So I naturally thought there’d be five…

[But then she personally came to the company.]

“What, that friend?”

[Yeah, she said she really likes Korea and VTubers, and wants to debut.]

“Did you really accept that?”

Isn’t this something out of a 1980s idol agency playbook?

The downright crazy story of someone coming to the company to plead for a debut.

[She seemed too sincere, so we held an interview, and she was genuinely impressive.]

“To what extent?”

[I’m considering her a secret weapon.]

“…To that degree?”

The Manager has been running the Celestial Realm for three years.

Someone with that much experience wouldn’t say something like that lightly, so she must have impressive skills.

[As I mentioned before, enough to modify the plan I’d had set for picking five members.]

“Oh… like a Miro-level talent?”

Originally, the Celestial Realm was supposed to have five members, but it seems it became a six-person system because of me.

In that case, could that Japanese person also have as much potential as I do…

[…Not quite, but if we had to compare, she’d probably be a 3rd-tier Miro.]

“Not even top-tier?”

[That’s right.]

“Then who is the second-tier?”

[…Eun-ha.]

“Oh… I see.”

Honestly, Sun-hee was the pick that the Manager supported back then, wasn’t she?

Even now, if we were to rank it by performance, she’s definitely at the forefront of the 2nd generation.

In that sense, it makes sense to consider that as a potential top talent of the 4th generation.

“But hearing that makes me a bit curious.”

[Is that so?]

“Yeah, since I’ve seen all the other 4th generation members.”

[Then shall I arrange a meeting for you next time?]

“A meeting?”

[Yes, she originally lived in Japan, but recently moved her residency to Korea.]

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

I’m not sure I want that.

And if I arrange to meet her this time, the 3rd generation may end up feeling left out and could cry about it.

“I guess I’ll meet her when time allows.”

More than that, is it still far from seeing talent akin to Miro in a thousand years (virtual years)?

Looks like the Celestial Realm really can’t function without me.

 

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