Ayumi stared at the video playing on her computer with a red face. “I-I have to do something like this…?”

It was a VTuber stream. One of the many that had sprung up in recent years.

Ayumi knew about them. Of course she did. It was hard not to know considering that Times Square had been overtaken a few times for the birthday of some famous VTubers.

But for her to do something like that…

“A-Aren’t I too old?”

She was already in her mid-twenties. Some of her friends were warning her about potentially becoming ‘Christmas cake’ already, and her parents were already asking when she would settle down.

Doing something like *this*...

*Goddammit! I told you guys to stop messing around already! How many years has it been since I’ve started, huh? Why are you bastards still trolling me with ‘these nuts’ jokes?!*

Ayumi felt her eyes spinning. “A-Am I going to have to deal with people like this too?”

Glancing at the chat, all Ayumi could see was a blur of usernames along with a cute little dragon girl emote waving her blue tail around.

And as for the streamer, she was completely red-faced, gritting her teeth.

Ayumi shook her head and then closed the stream before flopping back on her bed. “Uu… What have you gotten yourself into, Ayumi?”

There wasn’t a response. But of course there wasn’t. After all, she was just an old maid living by herself in a studio that her student’s friend paid for her.

Ayumi sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

An aged but well-maintained ceiling. Pristine... mostly because Ayumi had a lot of time and nervous energy after her new job that she went around the entire building and scrubbed it down.

"Is this fine...?"

She still couldn't believe it. A job, out of the blue. All her problems, fixed in a moment. And now, she even had the chance to help her students throughout the year for free if she wanted to. Since her rent, utilities, and even food was paid for, she could devote all of her time and energy to her students after her job.

Job. Right, that was still something to consider.

Ayumi raised her hand up, covering the lights on the ceiling. "A VTuber..."

To say that Ayumi hadn't considered going into the entertainment field in the past would be a lie. Every young girl dreamed of being an idol at some point. And since people told Ayumi she was cute growing up, she even tried out for one when she was younger.

But she couldn't. Her family needed her at the time, so she didn't follow through. But now...

It wasn't quite the same. And it also wouldn't be her face... or what an idol would usually do. But it should be fun, right? And she could live out a few of her childish fantasies.

Being a bit selfish like this...

*knock knock*

Ayumi flinched and quickly sat up. "A visitor?"

She wasn't expecting anyone that day. Well, she wasn't expecting any visitors at all. Since her students had gone back to school, she wasn't tutoring anyone else. And now with her new job, the only people who she was in contact with should be that Mister Zenki and-

"Oh!"

That man said that he would come back to check up on her soon, didn't he? Then the person knocking-

"Miss Ishida? Are you home?"

A suave and charming male voice.

Ayumi quickly jumped out of her bed and brushed herself off. "J-Just one moment!"

After giving her clothes a once over to make sure there weren't any wrinkles, Ayumi kicked the crumpled clothes on the ground out of the way and ran out of her bedroom.

Another knock.

Ayumi's heart raced and she quickly ran down the stairs. "Almost there!"

There weren't any more knocks, but Ayumi didn't want to keep Mister Zenki waiting-

"Gah!"

A book that she didn't pick up. In her rush, Ayumi didn't notice it and tripped, tumbling to the ground.

"Owowow..."

Silence. And then a deep sigh echoed from the other side of the door. "I'm coming in."

"E-Eh?" Ayumi blinked and looked up, still a bit dazed.

The doorknob wobbled a bit and then there was a click. Shortly after that, the door opened to reveal a handsome young man in a business suit.

Ayumi blushed and quickly stood up, brushing herself off. "I-I'm sorry!" She bowed and said, "I-I wasn't expecting anyone to visit, s-so-"

"It's fine." Zenki cut her off and walked in, closing the door behind him. He noticed the book on the ground next to Ayumi and sighed. Picking it up, he set it on the nearby desk and said, "But you need to take better care of yourself, Ayumi. Both Sen and Celes are concerned about you. And I'm certain that Ren would be as well."

Ayumi flinched and lowered her gaze. "I understand."

"Mm." Zenki nodded and took off his suit jacket, wrapping it around his arm. "As long as you do. Now... How have you been?" He set his jacket on the nearby desk and turned towards Ayumi. "Did you get used to the equipment yet? And have you decided on what you want to do?"

Ayumi looked up at Zenki and then poked her fingers together. "W-Well..." She remembered the VTuber she just watched and then sighed. "...Is it fine?"

"Hm?" Zenki tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Ayumi lowered her hands and smoothed her dress. "I'm a bit older than-"

"Ah, don't worry about that." Zenki interrupted Ayumi and waved his hands. "You're still in the prime of your life, Ayumi. I can assure you that you'll have plenty of appeal."

Ayumi blinked and then felt her face heat up. "R-Really? Do you think so, Mister Zenki?"

"Of course." Zenki smiled and said, "I wouldn't have given you the job if I didn't think so." He paused and said, "Well, I still would have. But it saves me a lot of effort and gac- resources. Now come on." He walked towards the stairs and said, "Your equipment is setup in your room, right? Let's do a run through."

"W-Wait!" Ayumi ran after him and said, "You can't just barge into a young woman's room!"

"True. But considering that you're a young woman who needs a stern handler, I'm doing it anyway." Zenki kept walking up the stairs and muttered, "Which reminds me that I need support staff too. Dammit, Cici. Why didn't the paperwork mention any of this?"

Ayumi felt her face heat up at Zenki's words.

It was... Well, considering how much he pointed out last time, Mister Zenki had a point. Ayumi *did* spend a bit too much on other people instead of herself. And she tended to forget about things in the middle of projects.

She had also been thinking a lot about her students and potential notes that might help them in school, so she had forgotten to do a lot of other things.

Like groceries, and laundry-

Wait.

Her laundry!

Ayumi sped up and reached to grab Zenki's arm. "Mister Zenki, wait!"

She thought she had it. Her hands reached out to grab his sleeve. And she felt the fabric brush her fingers.

But then it blurred and he was suddenly a few steps away.

"E-Eh?"

Ayumi blinked, confused.

And then the sound of a door creaking open echoed.

She froze.

Zenki froze. And then he let out a deep sigh. "Sensei. Do I need to hire you a personal assistant?"

Ayumi blushed and lowered her gaze.

-VI|IV-

In the kitchen area of Ayumi's house.

After scolding her, Mister Zenki sighed and commandeered Ayumi's kitchen to make some tea.

It seemed like Mister Zenki knew that something like this might happen since he was exasperated but not too upset.

He did seem lost in thought though since he kept muttering under his breath while making the tea.

In the meantime, Ayumi sat at the table and waited, watching Mister Zenki work.

As she did, she noticed something that she hadn't earlier about Mister Zenki.

Sure, he was attractive, muscular, charming, and apparently had a lot of money... But there was something else about him that stuck out to Ayumi when they first met. Something she didn't really get until she saw him moving around calmly like that.

"Um, Mister Zenki?"

Zenki pulled out a pair of mugs and said, "Yes, Ayumi?"

"You wouldn't happen to be Sen's Uncle, would you?"

Zenki paused in the middle of setting the mugs down on the kitchen countertop and then chuckled. "No. I'm not." He rubbed his face and muttered, "I guess there really is a strong resemblance though, huh?"

"A-Ah." Ayumi shifted and said, "I'm sorry. You just look a lot like Sen's father that I just assumed... I'm sorry."

A whistle echoed. The sound of the tea kettle.

Zenki shook his head and started pouring tea into the mugs. "It's fine. And you still apologize too much. That's a bad habit to have, especially with your new job." He carried the mugs back over to the table and set one down in front of Ayumi. After that, he sat across from her with the remaining mug and took a sip.

Ayumi meekly took her mug and took a slow sip. And then she looked up at Zenki. "Um... T-The discussion?"

"Hm?" Zenki paused in the middle of sipping some tea and then nodded. "Right." He finished taking a sip and then placed the mug off to the side. "Sensei. It's about time that you decide on how to start your career as a VTuber. While I wish that I could pay you just on retainer, the contract we signed doesn't allow that. And we also can't afford that."

"Y-Yes." Ayumi nodded.

That was right. This wasn't a charity case. Even though her students helped her get the job, this was still a job.

And even if Ayumi didn't feel she was qualified, she still had to do it. But...

"U-Um... I don't know where to start though..." Ayumi lowered her gaze.

That was the problem.

She had done a lot of research since getting onboarded to Zenki's company, but she still wasn't sure what to do as a VTuber. Or even how a VTuber was supposed to act.

There were some pure idol type VTubers who seemed like perfect women. There were some sexy gravure type VTubers who taunted and teased their audiences... and those were only a few types. The more Ayumi dug into the rabbithole, the more she got confused at how so many different people there were as VTubers. And at this point, Ayumi just didn't know what to do.

"No problem."

But like always, it seemed like Zenki had anticipated it.

While Ayumi was thinking, Zenki slid two books over.

"E-Eh?"

Ayumi glanced at the books and then tilted her head. "Idol Basics... and VTuber Basics?"

Zenki adjusted his tie and nodded. "That's right. These should help you with the fundamentals. But after this comes the real question. An important one that you need to decide from the start."

He pulled out two more books and slid them over. "Sensei. Do you want to be a sexy idol VTuber? Or a wholesome idol VTuber?"

Ayumi looked at the other books on the table.

The first had a picture of what looked like a K-Pop group on the cover, standing with confident and sexy poses. The other had a more traditional idol group, all gathered together and smiling at the camera.

Ayumi looked at Zenki.

Zenki kept a straight face and said, "It's your choice. I won't judge."

"...Really?"

Zenki nodded. "Really. And if these aren't fitting, I can find other reference material too."

Ayumi looked at the two books again and then shook her head. "No. It's fine. If... If you really won't judge... Then..."

...It was fine, right? Maybe to just try it out a bit?

Ayumi reached for the book with the K-Pop group.

As she did, she noticed Zenki's face distort. But before she could react, she touched the book and then-