The Saint of the Goddess Church, Rebesica, wanted to build a friendship with the Empire’s Third Princess, Isabella.
There wasn’t any particular reason.
It was simply because Isabella’s appearance had caught Rebesica’s interest.
To put it more mildly, Isabella had left quite an impression on her.
However, getting close to Isabella was no easy feat.
Isabella actively pushed Rebesica away, even going as far as to lie to keep her at a distance.
“…Why, I wonder?”
She truly had no idea.
Especially since Rebesica was confident that even when compared to Isabella, the so-called jewel of the Empire, she wasn’t lacking in beauty.
But Rebesica had no intention of giving up.
If a tree refuses to fall even after being pushed 100 times, then you just push it 101 times.
Simply put, the more Isabella rejected her, the more determined she became.
It had turned into a battle of persistence—who would give in first?
After another failed attempt at befriending Isabella, Rebesica returned to her room.
She planned to browse a gallery for a change of pace but instead ended up opening NewTube.
And there, on the screen, was the talk of the Empire—a hot topic for multiple reasons.
Live Stream Starting: 5 Hours Later
September 23rd, 20:00
[Problem-Solving Broadcast] Should I Learn Ice Magic or Fire Magic? – Lily
Rebesica stared at the screen in silence before murmuring,
“…Maybe I shouldn’t have spent my emergency funds after all.”
“…Your Highness, you seem to be in a good mood today.”
“Oh? Did it show?”
Of course, it showed.
Humming a tune while preparing for a broadcast—it would be impossible not to notice.
Honestly, it felt like she was outright asking for someone to comment on it.
Well, socializing and human relationships were all part of life, after all.
“I found a new use for VTubers.”
“A use? What kind of use?”
That piqued my interest.
What kind of use could a VTuber possibly have?
Increased appetite?
Improved sleep?
Better blood circulation?
Had she found some hidden benefit I hadn’t noticed before?
“Hmm… They help with relationships.”
…They help with relationships?
What?
Did she make a new friend with a VTuber fan or something?
I was still puzzling over her words when Isabella suddenly snapped her fingers and declared,
“Alright! I’m pretty much ready.”
“Good work, Your Highness.”
Now, all that was left was for me to review everything, and then today’s stream preparations would be complete.
Well, considering this was Princess Isabella, I was sure she had done a thorough job.
As I quickly scanned through everything for a final check, she suddenly clapped her hands together, as if recalling something important.
“Oh, and just so you know—even if Ice Magic wins, that deal we talked about yesterday is still valid.”
…What the hell is she planning to make me do?
I was starting to get a little worried.
[Problem-Solving Broadcast] Should I Learn Ice Magic or Fire Magic? – Lily
72,000 Viewers Live | Started: 3 Minutes Ago
[Where is my Master? It’s your perfect, flawless maid VTuber, Lily!]
“ICE MAGIC ONLY! ICE MAGIC ONLY! ICE MAGIC ONLY!”
“Lily, please don’t listen to these wicked ice enthusiasts”
“I’m a fire mage, and today I stole my grandma’s luggage and threw it into the river.”
“Is there even a debate? Fire magic, hands down.”
“Have you considered Lightning Magic instead? It’s actually really good.”
“If you don’t pick Ice Magic, I’m unsubscribing.”
“Is this the frontlines of the Great Fire vs. Ice War?”
“FIRE MAGIC SPECIAL DEAL! Learn Fire Magic today and receive a Giant Fireball skill and a Black Flame Wolf Spirit absolutely FREE! Limited-time offer! Ancient Relic Bonus Included!”
“Lily, my little brother has a terminal illness… His dying wish is to see you use Ice Magic.”
“I’m a maid, and all the maids my age are learning Fire Magic these days.”
“…I can’t help but laugh.”
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find a single instance of the chat following the opening greeting we had agreed on yesterday.
Instead, all I could see was a chaotic war zone between Fire Magic supporters and Ice Magic supporters.
Honestly, today’s chatroom was halfway to becoming a battlefield at this point.
It wasn’t even off-topic, so moderating it would be tricky.
And asking them to calm down probably wouldn’t do anything either.
It genuinely felt like someone had opened the gates of hell.
And yet…
The stream had only just started, and there were already 72,000 viewers.
I had assumed that breaking the debut stream’s highest view count record would be impossible for a while… but now, it seemed like today might just shatter that record.
No, not just break it—completely obliterate it.
This Fire vs. Ice Magic debate turned out to be an absolute cheat code for engagement.
[A lot of viewers have left comments listing the pros of Ice and Fire Magic.]
“Wait, Ice Magic has pros?”
“Some of those comments just turned into full-blown fights, lol.”
“Pros? You mean insults, right?”
[Since it’s impossible to read every single comment during the stream, I’ve picked out a few in advance. Hope you all understand!]
“If she read all of them, we’d be here all day lol.”
“Is the great Ice vs. Fire War finally beginning?”
[Shall we start by looking at the advantages of Fire Magic?]
With that, Lily pulled up the makeshift PPT I had frantically thrown together before the stream—a collage of rough sketches and text.
“Time to put these Ice losers in their place~”
“Let’s be real, Ice Magic is going to win anyway. Let’s just skip Fire Magic and move on.”
“It’s Fire Magic’s time now, so all you Ice supporters, please step out for a moment.”
[The first advantage is, of course, raw firepower. This was the most commonly mentioned point in the comments.]
“Firepower one-trick, lol.”
“Once you get used to Fire Magic’s power, other magic feels underwhelming.”
“Firepower is always the answer.”
“Ice supporters, even if you cope, nothing changes. Lol.”
[But… honestly, how much firepower does a maid really need?]
“LMAO.”
“Better to have it than not, right?”
“Fact: Top-tier maids are also elite fighters.”
“Fire fans are getting salty already, lol.”
“Aren’t you supposed to protect your Master? You’re just gonna let them die?”
[Protect my Master? Everyone, to become my Master, you’d have to be capable of slicing the sky with a sword and splitting the ocean with magic. Would someone like that really need my protection?]
The already fast-paced chat immediately exploded at her words.
“???”
“??? What?”
“Then why would someone like that even hire you?”
“At this point, she has no intention of being a maid, lol.”
“Even if she learns magic, I doubt she’ll ever get employed. Might as well quit now.”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“Is this… the one moment where Fire and Ice supporters unite?”
For reference, that was an improvised line by Princess Isabella herself.
The original script was just supposed to end with questioning whether a maid really needed firepower.
Her ability to ad-lib like that… I have no choice but to respect it.
[Second advantage! Once you reach a certain level, Fire Magic allows for precise heat control, making it great for cooking.]
“This one’s actually legit.”
“Yeah, this is true.”
“And the required mastery level isn’t even that high.”
“A lot of top-tier chefs learn Fire Magic just for this reason.”
“This is a solid point.”
“Even Ice supporters can’t argue against this one.”
“…You can still cook delicious food without learning Fire Magic.”
“Uh, well… yeah.”
Out of nowhere, the Ice-supporting maid next to her threw in a random counterpoint against Fire Magic.
…She must have felt threatened.
[But I don’t cook, so…]
“Is she an Ice supporter?”
“I already knew, but hearing it still pisses me off.”
“Forget magic—fix your mindset first, lol.”
“An Ice supporter with an infuriating personality.”
“Just learn it already, damn it.”
“Is it normal to feel the urge to punch her?”
[Moving on to the third advantage! Recently, a new insect-repelling spell was developed. So if you learn Fire Magic, you won’t have to worry about bugs anymore!]
“This one’s actually really good.”
“Learning it opened up a whole new world for me.”
“It’s way more effective than the old Lightning Magic insect-repelling spells.”
“Not that hard to learn, and doesn’t drain much mana. Super practical.”
“If you argue against this, you’re definitely an Ice supporter.”
“Ice fans, you have to admit this one’s legit.”
[But if it’s this easy and useful, won’t they just make an artifact for it at some point?]
“Then what’s the point of learning magic?”
“Oh, she’s definitely an Ice supporter.”
“Is she deliberately trying to piss off Fire fans?”
“Ever consider that learning the spell could save you the money you’d spend on an artifact?”
“Watching her piss off Fire fans is so satisfying, lol.”
“Lily, the Fire fan exterminator! Lily, the Fire fan exterminator!”
The Fire Magic slander just kept coming.
Had Princess Isabella’s inner Ice supporter finally been unleashed?
[Alright, that’s enough about Fire Magic. Let’s move on to Ice Magic! One of the advantages of Ice Magic is that it helps you stay cool during summer… But if that’s the case, wouldn’t Fire Magic be overwhelmingly better in winter? After all, there’s a type of low-temperature Fire Magic that’s completely safe.]
There’s no way I’m letting this slide.
This has to be fair and balanced.
“Alright, Ice supporters, it’s your turn now.”
“Oh, you loved trash-talking Fire Magic, huh?”
“Wait, isn’t she an Ice supporter? How does she even know about low-temperature Fire Magic?”
“Suddenly, Fire Magic fans are in high spirits lol.”
“ICE SUPPORTER MASSACRE TIME! LET’S GOOOOO!”
“Does she even plan to pick one, or is she just here to start a war?”
The Fire Magic fans, who had spent the past few minutes being ruthlessly mocked, were now revving up for their revenge.
It was a bloodbath.
A total battlefield.
And at the center of it all…
Princess Isabella was grinning.
She was enjoying this.