Rewinding time a little.
It was the day when Laura and Chel’s voice drama was released.
Somewhere in this world, there must have been a Sora staring blankly at the newly released voice drama, but at least, she was not within Son Narin’s field of observation.
Even Barubara had bought the voice drama, saying that it was kind of hot, and Rui had purchased it as well, thinking it might serve as a useful reference for the Aurora Struggle Project broadcast. But of course, there was no way for Son Narin to know about any of that.
What they were thinking or how they felt about it was purely within the realm of imagination.
No, in fact, it wasn't even in the realm of imagination.
Other people’s reactions or impressions didn't matter to Son Narin at all. Instead, she simply put her earphones in.
"Massage chair… No, the massage chair is surprisingly noisy."
So, she opted for the recliner instead.
Lying down in bed while listening was also an option, but Narin knew that the bed was far more comfortable for the human body than a recliner.
Listening to the voice drama in bed wasn’t an ideal choice—it carried the very fatal risk of falling asleep in the middle of it.
That was why Narin reclined the back of the chair and settled herself into it.
She clasped her hands neatly just below her navel, closed her eyes, and entrusted herself to the recliner.
It felt as if she had erased herself from the world.
Like the wind or a blade of grass—she felt at one with nature.
In the hazy sensation of her very sense of self dissolving into the air, only the voice echoed.
[Lady Chel, you are the treasure of the Great Ducal Family.]
[Serving you is my joy, and the mere fact of your existence is the honor of our family.]
[Beyond that, you are the hope that will open the future of the empire.]
[I understand that your marriage to His Highness, the Crown Prince, is not far off.]
[A lady like you will surely know how to care for the people of the Ducal Family and the citizens of the empire.]
At first, she simply listened without any thoughts.
She cleared her mind of unnecessary distractions. Thoughts could sometimes be an obstacle, after all.
She just wanted to listen to the voice drama in its purest form.
For instance, when Son Narin was in middle school, she had been a kid who watched a fair amount of games and anime.
When she entered high school, she had to focus on studying, so she distanced herself a bit from subculture content.
Then, after graduating high school, she revisited the anime she had watched in middle school—only to find it wasn’t as enjoyable as she had remembered.
Like how the first bite of a delimanjoo on the subway is always the most delicious.
First experiences always leave the strongest impressions, and as one repeats similar experiences, the baseline for stimulation and enjoyment rises.
That was why, treasuring this first playthrough, Son Narin listened to the voice drama all the way to the end.
"Hoo… As expected, Laura is really good at voice acting."
Then, she reached for a notebook and pen.
"I don’t know who wrote the script, but they really thought it through. Since the theme is status reversal, it feels quite different from what I’ve heard before."
Of course, Son Narin had absolutely, definitely not purchased Aurora’s voice drama for enjoyment.
Absolutely not.
It was solely for analysis.
The fifth match was going to be Leviathan versus Gryphon.
Though before that, they would be facing Behemoth first, regardless.
Especially in the recent match between Behemoth and Leviathan, Aurora had been conserved in terms of playtime.
That meant the chances of Aurora participating in the match against Gryphon were considerably high. Analyzing the opponent’s ace was by no means a waste.
"Should I listen to it one more time?"
Son Narin replayed the voice drama.
The first time, she had listened to it with her entire body relaxed, but this time, she held a notebook and pen as she focused.
Just like Aurora’s previous voice drama, this one had a rougher quality rather than a refined polish. She couldn't say for sure without visiting the recording site, but it felt like a lot of ad-libbing was involved.
Since VTuber voice dramas didn’t have rigid standards, as long as the acting and pronunciation were passable, they would be accepted.
That looseness in standards made it all the more interesting to analyze.
If this had been a typical character voice drama performed by a voice actor, there wouldn’t have been any trace of the actor’s real self.
But in contrast, this particular voice drama had an unusually high number of ad-libs.
And ad-libs, by nature, reflect some degree of the performer’s personality or their interpretation of the character.
Narin even took note of the exact minutes and seconds when breathing sounds were recorded. She couldn’t tell right away whether those breaths belonged to Laura or Chel, but by listening repeatedly, she figured she would eventually be able to tell them apart.
As she replayed the voice drama, Son Narin continued her analysis.
Anyway, she analyzed it.
===
【Virtual VTuber Gallery】
[General] Aurora’s voice is good.
(Voice drama illustration)
[Only Aurora Con]
[Only Aurora Con]
[Only Aurora Con]
The voice turned out well.
===
[General] Aurora’s voice is fucking boring, don’t listen to it.
(Voice drama purchase verification image)
I listened to Aurora’s previous voice drama over 100 times.
I liked the yandere vibes, but since it was too similar to her usual character, it got repetitive after a while.
But this new voice drama features Aurora with a different concept than usual, so it feels fresher than before.
The previous one gets tiring if you listen to it too much, so if you’re only buying one, get the new voice drama.
[Only Aurora Con]
[Comments]
- Of course you’d get sick of it after 100 listens, dumbass lololol
- After reading this, I’ve decided to listen to it 99 times instead.
- [Crazy Youth Con]
- You’re Chel, aren’t you?
ㄴ [Chel Easy Con]
ㄴ Why the fuck does this con even exist?
ㄴ [ChelHaha Con]
ㄴ [Really Chelmusing Con]
===
Time passed, and Son Narin logged into the gallery to write a post.
She had originally planned to write just one post.
It wasn’t because she wanted to share her impressions of the voice drama—it was purely to analyze audience reactions.
It’s like when you finish a game or anime, and you check the community forums where viewers present new interpretations.
“This part was inspired by such-and-such, this part had foreshadowing here, this scene had a hidden Easter egg.”
Reading that kind of TMI wasn’t enjoyable—ahem, it helped with deeper analysis.
So, to draw out audience reactions, Son Narin made a post.
But the first one got no comments.
Maybe it was too plain?
She wrote a second post.
This time, she managed to get a little more engagement, but the reactions and TMI she was looking for were nowhere to be found.
"Hmm."
Narin was slightly dissatisfied, but there was nothing she could do. The VTuber gallery mainly consisted of posts covering live streams.
Of course, VTuber-related discussions, fan art, and the occasional burst of overwhelming thirst often made it to the trending posts, but voice drama discussions… not so much.
Since the release was still fresh, it might have been too soon to expect reactions. Many people probably hadn’t listened to it yet.
Still, just in case, she searched for keywords on SNS: ‘Aurora,’ ‘Yuri Voice,’ ‘LauraChel,’ ‘#Aurora_Salon.’
She also tried Aurora’s Japanese spelling ‘オロラ,’ and shorthand searches like ‘ㅇㄹㄹ,’ ‘arr,’ and ‘orr.’
She even checked the Doujin Voice Gallery for mentions of Aurora and Chel.
And, of course, she checked the trending posts in the Labyrinthos Gallery…
[Analysis] Fantasy League Team Breakdown, Ep.1: The Unchanging Championship Contender, Cerberus
[Analysis] Fantasy League Team Breakdown, Ep.2: Behemoth, Still a Strong Player
[Analysis] Fantasy League Team Breakdown, Ep.3: The Dark Horse, Leviathan
[Analysis] Fantasy League Team Breakdown, Ep.4: The Weakest, but Popular, Gryphon
"……."
It felt like being doused with cold water.
The excitement she had been feeling just moments ago cooled instantly.
And then, it was like she was being forced to face an uncomfortable reality. As if someone was asking her, 'You're dead last with just 1 point. What the hell are you doing right now?'
Hoo.
After exhaling, Son Narin shrugged her shoulders.
"Should I play a game?"
Click.
She shut down her PC.
Then, she turned on her VR headset.
In the background, she played Aurora and Chel’s voice drama.
[That is impossible.]
[How could someone as lowly as me dare to love you, my lady?]
As Aurora’s voice played, launching a game started to feel fun again.
There probably wasn’t a single streamer in existence who didn’t get criticized. Even those with the least controversial content got flamed.
Some people complain that a streamer is boring.
If they stream solo, people tell them to interact more with others.
But when they do collabs, people complain, "Why are you streaming with that person?"
It wasn’t just a VTuber thing. Every profession had its share of nonsense like this.
No matter how fun a broadcast was, if the streamer’s mentality collapsed, it was all over.
That was why, for a VTuber, the most important thing wasn’t necessarily entertainment or popularity—maybe it was just having the mental endurance to keep going.
And in that sense, Son Narin was confident in her mental fortitude.
Even if she got criticized, even if she received cold, harsh feedback…
She had enough composure to just let it go in one ear and out the other.
Though,
"But that’s all I have."
She had never once thought of herself as a particularly charming VTuber.
Other than her strong mentality, she didn’t think she had any outstanding strengths.
That was why, to Son Narin, being a VTuber wasn’t about shining—it was just about enduring. Holding on. Holding on. And holding on some more.
If she just kept gritting her teeth and pushing forward, she’d become something eventually.
She was sure of it.
【Welcome to the world of Dungeon Seeker.】
After some hesitation, Son Narin booted up Dungeon Seeker.
She had considered playing Labyrinthos, but for some reason, she was more in the mood for Dungeon Seeker today.
Labyrinthos was important, sure, but grinding gold in Dungeon Seeker was just as crucial.
[I understand that your marriage to His Highness, the Crown Prince, is not far off.]
[A lady like you will surely know how to care for the people of the Ducal Family and the citizens of the empire.]
Of course, the voice drama was still playing on loop.
Because of that, she couldn’t start a stream.
Since the voice drama was paid content sold by EYEAI, including it in a broadcast would mean getting hammered by copyright claims.
And by that same logic, inviting other teammates was tricky too.
Son Narin hesitated.
[Looking for people to game with on stream today!]
She typed it out in the Gryphon team Discord server chat.
Then, she immediately deleted it.
Among the Gryphon members, she was the only one online. And it was still far from evening.
There was little chance of getting a response. If she wanted to reach out, it would be better to do it closer to evening.
Everyone had their own schedules.
And honestly, if she wanted to play while listening to a voice drama, solo play was the better option.
With that thought in mind, Son Narin started walking down the in-game streets alone.
There were a few things she needed to prepare before playing solo.
First, exploration items.
A flashlight to cut through the darkness, a rope for various uses, a fire steel to light flames. At the very least, she needed some basic gear.
Next, potions.
Health potions for healing wounds, repellent potions to drive away monsters, and various other alchemical items—she purchased them all at the alchemist’s shop.
And finally, food.
"Bread, jerky, and some drinking water should be enough."
Since she had to manage her Hunger Gauge, bringing food was essential.
Jerky was lightweight and compact, though it was annoyingly salty. Still, it was a far better option than eating bugs or rats.
Water was easy to find. There were rivers, wells, and a few other spots where she could collect it.
And lastly, bread.
Bread took up a bit of space but wasn’t heavy. Plus, it restored a significant amount of the Hunger Gauge, so she needed at least some.
Bread could be bought at the bakery.
"Oh my, you’re online?"
And when she arrived at the bakery, there was someone elegantly sipping tea on the balcony.
There was no need to say who it was.
"……What is this?"
Fate?
Son Narin found herself thinking that without meaning to.