The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart-Chapter 156: Can I add you as a friend?

3D broadcasting is inherently an expensive endeavor.

When VTubers do live 2D broadcasts, there aren't significant costs involved. Of course, there are expenses for the faceplates, computer equipment, broadcasting gear, electricity, and internet fees, but these don’t drain your wallet every time you turn the broadcast on.

However, 3D broadcasts incur costs every time.

First off, 3D broadcasts can’t be done from home—they have to be done in a studio. (Though there’s "home 3D broadcasting" using phone tracking, let’s consider this an exception for now.)

Major corporations like Horizon Air have their own studios, but unfortunately, EYEAI is a small to medium-sized enterprise.

Since we don’t have our own studio, we must rent one, which incurs rental costs.

On top of the studio rental, we also need staff for the broadcast. So, labor costs come into play, meaning you have to pay each time you do a 3D broadcast.

That’s not all.

For example, if I were to perform on an instrument, I would need a model of the instrument, which also requires additional costs for modeling.

In other words, the more performances there are, the more additional costs pile up.

"So, you’re singing, right? Depending on how you stage it, additional costs might arise the more elaborate the performance is. And for some songs, we might even need to create a new track, which again costs money," Leon explained.

"So, for your 3D broadcast, you can sing 1-2 songs, maybe 3 at most. Anything beyond that... might not be approved."

"So, it’s pretty expensive?"

"Yeah, the first 3D broadcast is free, but what if you decide to sing 10 songs?"

Singing that many would require a substantial amount of money and effort, which would surely upset CEO Jeong Ho-yeong.

"Speaking of which, let me also explain about paid live streams. For a paid live, you’d typically perform for about 1.5 hours and sing around 10 songs. The ticket price, excluding any merchandise, is usually around 50,000 to 70,000 won for an online live. Some companies charge even more than that."

"So, if I plan to sing a lot of songs, it’s better to just do a paid live, huh?"

"That’s right."

"Then, why not make the first 3D broadcast paid?"

"...Are you crazy?"

It was a casual suggestion, but Leon gave me an incredulous look.

"The first 3D broadcast is like a demonstration. EYEAI provided Aurora with a beautiful 3D model, and this broadcast is meant to show everyone that she will be doing 3D activities in the future."

"So, the purpose of the first broadcast is just to showcase how beautiful the 3D model is. It doesn’t need to be a big performance. It’s enough to just show that the 3D model turned out great."

That was Leon’s explanation.

The viewers will be satisfied just by seeing the high-quality 3D model, and they’ll donate in the chat. If we add a bit more performance or fun, the viewer satisfaction will increase slightly, but the efficiency won’t be that high.

"It’s a bit of an odd thing to say, but adding 10% more fun doesn’t guarantee that donations or views will increase by 10%. But the cost of increasing fun by 10% could end up being unexpectedly high," Leon said.

"So, you’re saying we can only sing 1-2 songs, or at most 3?"

Sora asked, repeating what she had heard from Laura.

"It’s just the way it is. The company’s goal is to make a profit," Nalim replied, showing familiarity with the situation, probably because of her long experience.

"So, I’m struggling with this. There are quite a few songs I’d like to sing," Leon said.

"Hmm..." Sora folded her arms unconsciously and leaned back in her chair, briefly lost in thought, wondering what she would do in this situation.

‘...This is really difficult.’

Although it was Laura’s issue, Sora seriously started to think about it.

She wanted to help Laura, but this wasn’t something she could just brush off casually. After all, Laura was facing a problem that Sora would likely face in the future too.

Sora’s 3D model was also in the process of being made.

It might not be finished during the Fantasy League period, but that wouldn’t be a problem. The popularity gained from the league wouldn’t vanish the moment it ended.

Even after the league was over, there would still be some residual interest from the viewers. They’d probably give the 3D broadcast a try out of curiosity.

To gain more subscribers, she would need to make an impact in the first 3D broadcast.

So, even though Sora was planning to sing during her first 3D broadcast, three songs at most...

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

‘...It’s hard to decide.’

There were so many songs she wanted to sing, yet none seemed to come to mind right away.

Songs she wanted to sing? Of course, there were some.

But most of them had already been sung for the MV.

The song she wanted to sing the most had already been re-recorded multiple times until it sounded just right, and the MV was also being carefully produced. Sora had spent a lot of money on it, which had made the MV production period a bit longer.

She thought it would probably be ready by the end of the Fantasy League.

But singing a song from the MV during the 3D broadcast... felt a bit awkward.

MVs are polished through several adjustments to make them sound perfect, whereas singing live is more raw and unrefined.

If the viewers thought "It sounded better in the MV," that could leave a bad impression.

‘...I’m glad I came to karaoke with them.’

Since they were already at the karaoke, Sora decided she would try out some songs she hadn’t sung before. But she wasn’t sure if she could sing them well.

Most VTubers could probably relate.

When they watch their own broadcasts later... they often cringe.

"Did I really say that? Was my voice really like that? Did I really react that way?" The cringey moments are endless. Even though they had fun during the broadcast, they feel like it’s all just embarrassing memories afterward.

Humans can’t really see themselves objectively.

It’s hard to judge yourself calmly.

And human memory is surprisingly volatile, so Sora decided to record the songs to have a backup.

"That sounds fine. Do whatever you want."

"Then, I’ll sing this first."

Sora’s first song choice was "Moe Chakwa Fire."

It was a song Sora usually wouldn’t pick, more in line with Chell or Inagika’s tastes.

And the next song...

What should she sing?

"...Ah, I forgot to turn off the recorder."

After a quick trip to the bathroom, Sora realized she’d left the recorder on.

But, well, what did it matter?

It might be annoying to find the exact parts where she sang, but the important thing was that the recording was there.

Should I edit it to make it easier to find only the parts I sang?

No, that would take too much work.

"More importantly, I wonder if my phone battery is okay."

Muttering to herself, Sora washed her hands and left the bathroom.

And then she ran into Nalim.

"Nalim-senpai?"

"Ah, well... You see..."

Nalim appeared a little hesitant.

...? What’s going on?

"Well, Sora, let’s get along from now on."

"Huh?"

"Can I add you on CocoaTalk? It’s nothing special, I just thought it would be nice to play some games together occasionally."

"Oh, sure. Let’s do that."

"Yeah! Thanks! That’s all I wanted to say! Let’s ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) be friends from now on!"

Saying that again, Nalim quickly turned around and left.

???

Wasn’t she just going to the bathroom?