A late night when fatigue slowly starts to set in.
Yawning, I applied holy water to my face.
Honestly, it felt wasteful. If the holy water was personally made by the Saintess, it was probably better than most high-quality health supplements.
But that didn’t mean I could drink it.
If I didn’t apply it consistently, it would be obvious the next time I met the Saintess.
“Ugh…”
Just thinking about the Saintess made me sigh naturally.
“How did it come to this…?”
I ended up in a secret relationship with the Saintess of the Goddess Church.
If someone had told me this a few days ago… I probably would’ve believed it.
I was already in a secret relationship with the Third Princess, so why not the Saintess too?
Of course, being involved with the Saintess wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
Getting close to her naturally opened up a path for VTuber evangelism.
A high-ranking member of the Goddess Church taking an interest in VTubers?
That would be an incredible opportunity.
…If only that high-ranking member of the Goddess Church hadn’t also hinted at wanting to set me up with the Third Princess, I might have been purely happy about it.
The Saintess, who was basically a human lie detector, was the person most capable of discovering the “red pill” about VTuber Lily.
That meant that if I wanted to keep the Third Princess’s secret, it was best to avoid entangling myself with the Saintess—especially since she was actively trying to pair us together.
Of course, the option to stay uninvolved with the Saintess had already disappeared a long time ago.
She had already made up her mind to meddle with everything at full force.
Couldn’t I just refuse?
…I already did.
And this was the result:
[No, I truly appreciate the thought, but that’s a bit…]
[You don’t have to hesitate. I’m sure the Goddess gave me this revelation because she wants me to help you.]
[I feel like I’d just be causing you trouble with my personal matters…]
[Not at all. By helping with your love, I’ll naturally achieve what I want as well. So this is for my sake too.]
[…There’s a difference in social status. I wouldn’t even dream of being with Her Highness the Princess.]
[Making the impossible possible—that’s what people call a miracle. And performing miracles is exactly what a Saintess does. Just trust me once.]
At that point, I gave up on trying to change her mind.
The Saintess, armed with goodwill and unwavering faith, had a stubbornness that simply couldn’t be broken.
To break that kind of resolve, the Goddess herself would probably have to intervene.
And so, the Saintess officially became my romance support manager.
…Well, I’m sure things will work out somehow.
At least, I wasn’t completely without hope.
[Have you ever been in a romantic relationship before?]
[No, not even once… But I am a woman, just like Her Highness the Princess. That alone should make me somewhat helpful.]
She openly admitted that she was a complete amateur when it came to romance.
How much help would a total novice in love really be as a romance coach?
If she were already close to the Third Princess, it might have been a different story, but the Saintess had mentioned that she was still in the process of getting closer to her.
That meant they weren’t close yet.
So there were clear limits to how much she could actually support me.
That was what I was banking on.
…Though, considering who she was, it was a bit worrisome to assume too much.
Anyway, for now, I decided to go along with the connection formed by the Saintess’s meddling.
For my oshi, Lily, who was probably finishing up a meal with her family by now.
By the way, what kind of conversations happen at royal family dinners?
Surely, they must talk about refined and sophisticated topics, right?
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
“So… You’re saying that His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and both Their Highnesses the Princes watched Lily’s stream?”
“I don’t know if they’ll keep watching, but at least this time, yes… Oh, and my brother Casar seems to have taken a real interest in VTubers, so he’ll probably keep watching.”
Casar…
That must mean Casar Astel, the First Prince of the Astel Empire.
“…Holy shit.”
The leader of a nation watching a VTuber.
And the heir to the throne showing interest in them.
Actually, no—calling the Emperor of the Empire just a “leader of a nation” was disrespectful.
The Emperor of the Empire was practically the ruler of Earth, or at least the equivalent of the U.S. President.
That meant Lily had achieved something that no VTuber in modern-day Earth had ever accomplished.
“I guess we’ll have to start calling Lily the God of VTubers now.”
“…I don’t even know if that’s something to be happy about.”
Well, like the Third Princess said, it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
I couldn’t imagine that all of their reactions would be positive after watching Lily’s stream.
I was almost certain someone would ask, “Why the hell do people watch this?”
And if they saw the chat, they’d probably call it undignified.
Thinking back to how the ruling class of the Empire reacted when galleries first emerged, I could easily predict their response.
In fact, it was surprising that the First Prince was still watching even after seeing one of Lily’s streams.
I might actually be able to have a decent conversation with him.
Was there a way I could casually bring up VTuber talk with him?
“So… Did you reveal that you’re Lily?”
“…Do you think I did?”
Yeah, that was a dumb question.
Of course, she wouldn’t.
Anyway, the most powerful people in the Empire were now interested in Lily…
That meant today might be a good opportunity to subtly cater to royal preferences in a stream.
Of course, if I made it too obvious, people might realize that Lily was actually the Third Princess, so I had to be careful…
But if I was really lucky, I could get some unexpected benefits from the royal family.
Like, what if the First Prince casually mentioned Lily in an official setting?
Even if that didn’t happen, there was nothing bad about leaving a good impression on the higher-ups.
When I voiced my thoughts out loud, the Third Princess didn’t look too pleased.
“…I’d rather not do anything that could risk exposing my identity.”
“Isn’t Lily’s image already far removed from anything that could be linked to Your Highness?”
“I really don’t want to hear that from the person who created that image… And besides, it’s my family. If I get complacent and assume they won’t find out, who knows what could happen?”
The way she said it made it clear—she absolutely did not want to get caught.
…I could understand her feelings.
“In that case, why not do something on stream that Her Highness would never do in a million years?”
That way, even the tiniest suspicion would be erased.
However, the Third Princess seemed utterly traumatized by whatever her family had talked about during dinner, as she objected even more strongly than usual.
“…Are you planning to completely ruin Lily’s image? And what if, by some chance, I do get found out? No. I cannot handle that. Even if we do something, not now. For the next few days, we have to lay low, no exceptions—”
“Your Highness.”
“…What.”
“You’re already at your limit—wait, never mind.”
I almost got hit.
After taking a deep breath, I spoke again, this time with a serious expression.
“If you’re truly that worried, you could always take a break from streaming for a few days.”
Her royal status.
Social expectations.
And the world of the aristocracy that I couldn’t possibly understand.
Considering all that, the suggestions I had made so far might have placed an enormous burden on her.
To relieve that burden and protect her mental state, I proposed a solution.
“This is sincere advice for Your Highness.”
“…What’s with you all of a sudden?”
“But.”
And then—
“If we’re going to do this, we should do it properly.”
I immediately shot down my own suggestion.
Taking a break wasn’t a good option.
A VTuber who had just debuted—who was drawing all the attention possible—taking a break for a few days?
That would be like kicking away a golden pumpkin that had rolled right into our laps.
Now was the time to charge forward without hesitation.
“This is advice for VTuber Lily.”
“…You’re telling me to choose between the two?”
I shook my head.
“I’m simply giving advice for VTuber Lily.”
“…You’re so damn pushy.”
I knew I was being forceful.
I knew that, as one human being to another, I should be more considerate of the Third Princess’s position.
But—
“I told you, I will lead Your Highness to the top. I said I would dedicate my dream to you, to ignite your own passion. And if that’s the case, then I have to be a little forceful.”
I was a selfish person who had already resolved to achieve what I wanted.
“…Then let me make you a promise.”
“…What kind of promise?”
“One day, you will say—‘I’m glad I became a VTuber.’ You’ll mean it from the bottom of your heart. I will make sure that happens.”
So—
“Guarantee it. Talk is cheap.”
“I will stake my life on it.”
The Third Princess of the Astel Empire.
Isabella.
I have no intention of letting you go.
“………”
Silence filled the air.
…Did I go too far?
I just blurted that out because I felt like she was wavering, but was that a mistake?
“…Seriously. If people call me an easy woman after this, I wouldn’t even be able to argue.”
Muttering in a voice barely loud enough for anyone to hear, the Third Princess let out a sigh and shook her head in defeat.
“So, what do I have to do?”
…CHANCE!!
“Well—”