I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 173

That evening’s collab stream with Maru at the “maid café” was... something.

Since they’d pushed the zatsudan (chatting) portion to the very end, the stream kicked off with Maru—already in full maid costume—waiting inside the café set, as Magia made her entrance as the “customer.”

“Welcome home, Master...!”

Magia immediately went full Karen-tier nightmare customer, earning huge laughs right off the bat.

“Oh wow, no cutesy 'nyan~' suffixes here? I’m leaving.”

“Wha—?! Sir—no, Master?!”

— LOLOLOLOL

— She’s dipping immediately?! LMAO

— Ruuude

— She’s too much, fr lmao

— What a hellspawn of a customer LOL

Maru’s over-the-top reactions were so intense, they were practically flavor in themselves.

Magia didn’t waste a moment comparing this café to the one across the street, making pointed critiques and deliberately provoking behaviors Maru would never voluntarily do.

It might’ve looked like bullying—

But for fans, it was a gift.

Maru’s solo streams were known for being a bit low-energy, so whenever she collabed with someone and those chaotic reactions came out, it scratched a real itch.

And maybe it was because Magia knew exactly how to hit Maru’s reaction points...

But every little comment got a big payoff, making the stream feel packed and tight, with no dead air.

“Do you guys offer ear-cleaning services here?”

“I’m sorry-nya. We don’t have that on the menu yet-nya...”

“Guess I’ll pop over to the place across the street to get my ears cleaned then.”

“Don’t go-nya!!!”

— LOLLLLLL

— That killed me

— “Just popping over to get my ears cleaned” I’m crying

“Come sit next to me. I’m sleepy, I wanna rest my head on your shoulder.”

“I’m sorry-nya. It’s against the rules for a maid to sit beside a guest-nya.”

“Okay, I’ll just go next door for a nap—”

“NYAAAAHHH!!”

— HOLY SHIT LMAOOO

— That café across the street is just a straight-up brothel, huh?

— What is that, a degenerate den?!

— Someone call the cops LOL

Of course, Magia wasn’t just tormenting her.

Their chemistry was real, and that shone through too.

When the omurice with Magia’s face drawn on it arrived, the two of them cast a spell over it together for the viewers’ delight.

“Be delicious, be delicious—moe moe kyuuun~!”

— KYAAAAAAA

— Bliss

— This is what I came for

— This is it LOL

— UMAAAAAIIIIIIII

— Kyaaaa

But the real highlight came right after that.

Magia—having just devoured every grain of rice in her omurice—sat back and announced, deadpan:

“Tastes bad.”

“Nya?!!”

— Brutal LOL

— She just flat-out said it LMAO

— Bro just dropped a “tastes bad” without flinching

— LOLLLLL

:: An anonymous viewer has donated 1,000 Clouds! ::

:: Okay sure, Maru’s bad at seasoning, but damn, “tastes bad” is cold-blooded LMAO ::

:: An anonymous viewer has donated 1,000 Clouds! ::

:: Jaaaesaaaam!!! ::

Still, no one actually disagreed that Maru’s cooking was... not great.

Pretty much every past guest had said the same thing.

Then Maru casually dropped a bombshell:

“That’s weird-nya... I followed my mom’s recipe exactly-nya...”

And suddenly, the stream turned into a damage control zone.

— (Side-eye emote)

— (x3 side-eye emote)

— 👀

Magia reacted instantly—just before the chat could go full spam mode.

“Ah, that makes sense. # Nоvеlight # I could feel your mom’s care for your health in every bite. My doctor’s been warning me to cut back on super salty stuff, and I usually eat way too aggressively seasoned food.”

“Really-nya?”

“Sometimes you need a taste detox like this. That’s what a caring maid does for her master’s health.”

— She dodged that hard LOL

— God-tier recovery

— Now Maru just looks like the dumb one for buying it

— Dumb-dumb Maru

— Literally surviving on her singing talent alone

— Momo did say she’s the most vulnerable to smooth talkers LOL

Looking at it from the outside, it might’ve seemed like the whole thing left them both a little bruised—

But after the stream ended, the first thing they did was look at each other and burst out laughing.

That’s just how they roll.

They’ve been friends for over a year now, and that’s the way they’ve always communicated.

Still, there may have been a hint of concern lingering after the stream.

On the way out, Maru fidgeted with her fingers and asked:

“Was it really that bad...?”

“Nah, it was edible.”

Maru scratched her head with a sheepish little smile.

“Phew. You just said it was gross right on stream, so I got a little worried...”

Of course, now that she felt a little better, she let her complaints out.

“Okay but seriously, I gotta say—why are you all sweet and soft with Ena, but with me it’s like, ‘talk in cat speech,’ ‘that’s gross,’ blah blah blah? Why the mood whiplash?”

Magia crushed her entire complaint with a single line.

“I can only say stuff like that because it’s you. I wouldn’t dare with Ena.”

“....”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The audience noticed it too—the difference in how Magia treated each of them.

With Ena, you could tell she was still feeling things out, being polite and cautious.

But with Maru, she went full gremlin friend mode—joking, pushing buttons, bantering like they’d known each other forever.

Magia’s nature was a little twisted.

Her favorite dynamic was teasing someone until they reacted—and fans who’d been watching her for a while felt most at home when she acted like that.

So yes, maybe they wounded each other a little that day—

But the collab with Maru was still a huge success.

After the stream ended, community reactions were already flooding in, and the balance between Ena x Gia and Maru x Gia seemed to be holding steady at about 6:4.

And what about Momo?

Fans didn’t even bring her up—because to them, Momo was still the undisputed top contender.

The vibe was: Ena and Maru are fighting each other for the right to even challenge Momo.

No one knew when the situation might flip, of course.

But with Magia’s six years of simping experience backing her?

That girl was dangerously strong.

***

That Friday evening, after a week that had flown by in a blur, Magia came back to Do-hee’s place a little earlier than usual—around 10 p.m.

She was there to try on the outfit she’d be wearing to the Mane Festival the next day.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Do-hee greeted her the moment she stepped through the front door and led her into the living room, where two mannequins stood waiting, already dressed.

One was adult-sized.

The other was child-sized.

There was no question who would be wearing which outfit.

The costumes were from The Aizela, a currently airing anime that had become a massive hit by recreating a manga that had topped Japan’s charts for months with next-level animation quality.

One outfit belonged to the hero.

The other to the elf mage, Aizela.

...Wait, wasn’t the hero a guy?

“Why are you cosplaying the male character, Boss?”

“I was looking for something the two of us could do as a pair. This one looked good.”

“You could’ve picked Tasha instead of Kain.”

In the story, Aizela—the main character—is a long-living elf with no defined lifespan.

So her party changes between the past and present.

In the past, her partner was the hero Kain.

In the present, it’s her mage apprentice, Tasha.

Kain and Tasha are around the same height,

but Kain’s a male character, while Tasha is a glamorous female character—her body type much closer to Do-hee’s.

Naturally, if you were doing a cosplay duo with Aizela, Tasha would make more sense, right?

Tasha’s outfit was pretty understated for a popular female character, but come on—seeing your oshi cosplay, especially if they’re a VTuber, is a rare treat.

You don’t get opportunities like this often, and Magia made no attempt to hide her disappointment.

Which, of course, made Do-hee grin.

“I’m doing this cosplay just in case someone recognizes me. Better to make sure I’m completely hidden.”

Neither Do-hee nor Magia had ever publicly shown their faces, so as long as they didn’t raise their voices, it was highly unlikely they’d run into any fans.

Just like how the white-haired Aizela completely transformed Magia’s image,

Do-hee figured dressing as a male character would be the best way to mask her own identity.

Magia got it. She nodded.

“Fair point. Alright, I’ll go try it on—just to check the size and all.”

Of course, even as she tried the costume on, she didn’t forget to keep up her usual snark.

“Did you used to cosplay often, Boss?”

“Nope. I always thought it’d be fun, but I was too chicken to do it alone. I actually get weirdly nervous about showing up to these kinds of events.”

“Then where’d you suddenly get the outfit?”

“A friend lent it to me. They’re a pro cosplayer who does corporate events. I told them our body types and asked what would work. They recommended both Kain–Aizela and Tasha–Aizela sets.”

“No wonder the quality’s so good, even for something put together last minute.”

Do-hee grinned slyly.

“What? You don’t like me cosplaying often?”

“If someone as pretty as you wears a standout costume, photographers are gonna be swarming you, asking to shoot.

And as your loyal turret, I can’t allow that kind of chaos.”

“Oh, it’s that serious?”

“I’m not even joking. Those unicorns are gonna snap their horns in envy. If you ever do cosplay at another event, please take me with you.”

“Alright, alright. Don’t know if there’ll be a next time, but still. You’re reassuring to have around.”

Since they’d be walking around in costume for hours, freedom of movement was important.

Thankfully, Magia’s outfit was light—a simple skirt and a shawl-style cape—so it didn’t restrict her much.

The shoes were flats too, so walking wouldn’t be a problem.

She picked up the matching staff and gave it a few playful swings.

“If I break this, I’m paying for it, right?”

“As long as you bring all the parts back, it’s fine. The cosplayer said they break it all the time anyway.”

“The staff’s taller than me. It’s a little intimidating...”

Still, with that, prep was complete.

Do-hee helped Magia out of her costume—she had clearly already done her own fitting earlier—

and after putting the outfit back on the mannequin, Magia changed into her pajamas.

Do-hee settled onto the living room sofa, busy with a phone call.

At first, Magia wondered who she could possibly be chatting with so late at night.

Turned out it was Ra Seunghyun from planning and Oh Seok-jae from PR.

Quick on the uptake as always, Magia realized this trip wasn’t just about scoping out fan merch trends.

Once the call ended, she brought Do-hee a glass of water and asked:

“So... you’re planning to open a corporate booth at Mafe?”

Do-hee, parched from all the talking, downed the glass in one go and nodded.

“Yeah. I think it’s time.”

“You could’ve easily had staff handle that. You showing up in person—it’s not just about checking merch stats, is it?”

“Well, at first I was just gonna see how much demand there was. But if we’re going anyway, it felt like a waste to just goof off. Gotta strike while the iron’s hot, right?”

“And to think you said you were going to chase some ‘romance’...”

“I am. But business is business. Anyway, it won’t just be us. The team leads are each stopping by to scout the venue too. After everyone checks it out and we meet up, we’ll decide whether to officially participate next time.”

A corporate booth at a major doujin event.

It’s a form of marketing with very clear pros and cons.

Even though companies run the booths, they usually have to hire temp workers to handle things like payment, restocking, and line management.

But with crowds that size, it’s hard to maintain service quality unless the booth staff are actual employees.

A bad booth experience can easily backfire and hurt the brand.

And yet, companies still shell out for booths—because the exposure is massive, and it gives existing fans something new to enjoy.

More importantly, getting a booth often comes with a slot on the main stage,

where companies can showcase members, introduce new content, or even hold short live performances in front of about 2,000 audience members.

Parallel already had a solid online presence.

But offline reputation? That was a different beast.

This could be a great opportunity to show the world just how complete Parallel’s vision had become.

“I think we’re finally solid enough to not get crushed by the whales. Don’t you?”

“Yeah, I’d say so.”

Parallel had been biding its time, carefully weighing the pros and cons.

But as Do-hee said, they’d finally reached a point where they wouldn’t be drowned out by the bigger corporate booths.

Of course, marketing is essential—but if the cost outweighs the benefit, it becomes a dangerous gamble.

And if the booth ends up being a ghost town, that’s the most pitiful look of all.

The kind of companies that usually take booths at Korea’s biggest subculture event, Mafe?

Giant game companies like Mimex that even casual fans know.

Korea’s #1 anime distributor and major Japanese studios doing early premieres through OTT platforms.

Massive VTuber groups like Bachubachu or Yoruasaa.

For Parallel to step into that arena and say “Hey, notice us too!”—

Of course it was intimidating for a first-time booth.

But the booth and stage management were Do-hee’s job.

All Magia had to do was keep being Magia.

That’s why, as she gently nudged Magia toward the bedroom, Do-hee said:

“You don’t have to overthink anything. Just come with me tomorrow and enjoy yourself.

Me and the team leads have to act like corporate reps, so you’re our proxy for the fan experience.”

“Aha. In that case, leave it to me.”

“Then let’s get some sleep. We need to leave early for makeup and setup. Oh—and just in case, if you run into someone you know at the venue, do not acknowledge them, got it?”

Magia just laughed, acting like there was no way she’d mess up.

She even joked that Do-hee was the one who needed to be careful.

...But Magia had no idea.

The next day, she would run into someone at the event that she absolutely did not expect to see.