The next day, at Shuchi'in Academy.
After bidding her sister farewell at the school gates, Moeha walked toward her classroom with a classmate she happened to run into. Upon entering, her gaze immediately landed on her close friend nearby.
"Kei-chan~"
Kei Shirogane. Her skin was as white as her name implied, with beautiful silver hair flowing down to her waist, held back by a black headband over her bangs. Her deep blue sailor-collared uniform hugged her slender, graceful figure.
Moeha trotted up to her. Kei's sapphire-like, crystal-clear eyes met Moeha's pure and innocent-looking face.
"What's wrong?"
"Hee-hee. Didn't you say before that you wanted to try live streaming, Kei-chan? Well? Have you started yet?"
"I gave up on the idea. I don't know what I should stream," Kei shook her head. She had no idea that beneath Moeha's innocent smile lay a deep-seated thirst for amusement.
"Hmm..." Moeha blinked. "I watched a lot of streams for you last night. If you don't know what to do... how about streaming yourself doing homework? There's no overhead cost, and if anyone tips you, it's pure profit. I even saw people getting donations just for streaming themselves sleeping! If you don't have a computer, I can lend you one."
"Streaming homework is enough?" Kei nodded thoughtfully. "Then maybe I'll give it a try... Moeha, can I try it at your place after school today? I don't want my brother or dad to find out about the streaming thing."
"Hee-hee. You're afraid it would be too embarrassing if you don't make any money, right? No problem~"
They chatted until class was about to start. Moeha returned to her seat and took out her books, but her peripheral vision remained fixed on her cool, distant friend.
Shuchi'in students fell into two categories: the wealthy and the brilliant.
Moeha was both wealthy and smart. Kei Shirogane, on the other hand... she wasn't "rich in assets" so much as she was "rich in debts."
When Kei was little, her family had been wealthy, but after her father's factory went bankrupt, they were left millions in debt.
With her adorable looks, Kei was popular with both boys and girls. In a school like Shuchi'in, crawling with trust-fund kids, finding a rich boyfriend would have been effortless. Plenty of boys had confessed to her.
But Kei had fierce pride. She rejected them all. She would rather deliver newspapers after school to help with household expenses than take the easy way out.
Even though she was close friends with Moeha and Chika, she never thought about taking advantage of them.
That was exactly why Moeha liked her... cute, proud, yet kind and nurturing. Once, when they were out playing and a child was in danger, Kei had lunged forward to help without a second thought.
Noticing Moeha's stare, Kei tilted her head in confusion.
Moeha smiled and turned her focus to the blackboard.
Hee-hee... Kei-chan is like a flower on a high peak.
But... the more pure and noble she is, the more I want to completely defile her. I want to lock her in a dungeon for the rest of her life and 'love' her thoroughly!
After school.
Kei, who had already called her father, went to the Fujiwara villa with Moeha. It wasn't her first time there, so she was used to the decor that looked like cursed items from a horror movie.
In Moeha's room, the computer, webcam, and other streaming gear were ready.
"You just need to register an account to start~ By the way, Kei-chan, why did you suddenly want to stream?" Moeha asked curiously. Kei had always stuck to odd jobs before.
"That's..." Kei looked away awkwardly. "Be-because of my dad."
"???" Moeha tilted her head.
"A few months ago, my dad decided to try streaming to make money... At first, my brother and I thought it was just a mid-life crisis game. How could a middle-aged guy make money streaming?"
Kei's expression was complicated.
"Then recently, we saw his account. He has 50,000 followers! Every video gets 200,000 to 300,000 views! He makes a million yen a month just from ad revenue! And when he streams, people just throw money at him!"
Kei swallowed hard, getting more agitated as she spoke.
"I accidentally walked behind him once during a stream, and someone donated 10,000 yen! 10,000 yen! I... I don't agree with that way of earning. I waited until he went to the bathroom and told the viewers not to give so much, to spend it on their own lives instead. But... they just gave more! He made 800,000 yen in a single night!"
"I don't know how many newspapers I'd have to deliver to earn that much!?"
Kei's face looked as though the values she had been raised with were crumbling.
Hearing this, Moeha was slightly displeased. If Kei wanted to stream for fun, she'd support her. But if it was for money...
It wasn't that money was bad, but if she became a girl who sold her body or dignity for cash... then she'd lose her "value."
A fallen paladin is only exciting if she starts as a noble knight; otherwise, she's just a "sow."
Moeha liked the proud, stubborn Kei. She didn't want her friend to fall—neither for her own twisted amusement nor for Kei's sake as a friend.
Moeha wasn't too worried, though. The barrier to entry for streaming was low. There were countless cute girls online with webcams... and even if they weren't cute, beauty filters could fix that. Very few actually made real money.
But... what if she got lucky?
Wanting to earn money for family was noble. If she truly "fell," Moeha would just stop being her friend.
But for now, as a friend, Moeha didn't want Kei to be scammed because of her naive idea that streaming was just "picking up free money." She needed a little guidance~
"Alright, alright. Making money isn't that easy. Let's just try a test stream first~"
"Eh... okay." Kei calmed down and started registering. Moeha had already pre-installed the software.
"Title... um, category... Life? I'll just put 'Doing Homework'."
"I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay..."
Kei had no special talents. At school, she was the "Ice Beauty" type—quiet and not very conversational. Since it was her first time, she was hesitant about putting her face online. She pointed the camera at her desk, showing only her workbook and her slender, white arm. The only sound in the stream was the scritch-scratch of her pen on paper.
Although she didn't expect much, Kei kept glancing at the monitor to see if anyone had joined.
People did enter, but they didn't chat or donate. They'd watch for a few seconds and leave. Kei shook her head to clear her distractions and went back to her work.
[Keep it up! ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)!!]
A comment flickered across the screen. Kei held her breath, thinking she finally had a viewer, only to realize the ID belonged to Moeha.
In the living room, Moeha put down her tablet after sending the chat. Her phone screen showed the link to the stream she had just shared.
Moeha: [Big Brother~ This is a link to a friend's stream.]
Rin clicked the link. It was just a girl's hand doing homework. The room was silent except for Moeha's lone comment.
Moeha: [Can you do me a favor, Big Brother?]
Rin: [What kind of favor?]
Moeha: [A very good friend of mine wants to make money streaming, but she thinks it's easy money. I'm worried she'll be scammed by bad people...]
Moeha explained Kei's situation and her plan to Rin.
Rin: [So you want me to 'scam' her first to give her a wake-up call before a real predator gets to her?]
Rin was familiar with this. Back then, Ami had asked Rin and Kaede to give Maki a "little lesson" like this. However, Ami had used herself as an "example" to show Maki how many bad guys were online. This time, Moeha was straight-up asking Rin to deceive her.
Moeha: [Yes. Once Kei-chan experiences being tricked, she'll be more on guard.]
Moeha: [That's all I can do as a friend~ As for the money, whatever you give her, just ask me for it later.]
Rin: [That's fine. But you have to do me a favor too, Moeha.]
Rin had left too early yesterday to tell the Fujiwara sisters about the Kessoku Band live show. Now was the perfect time.
Since it sounded interesting, Moeha would have gone even if Rin hadn't helped her. Now that he was helping her, she agreed immediately.
Moeha: [Don't worry, Big Brother. I'll take care of my sister~]
Tricking an innocent girl who thought streaming was a gold mine was easy for Rin.
Even if she caught him, it would be a win—it would prove she was cautious enough.
With Ami, the little pervert actually wanted to experience being a "manga heroine," which led to their current relationship. This time, it definitely wouldn't go that far.
After agreeing, Moeha told Rin more about Kei. As she spoke, Rin tried to remember if Kei Shirogane was a character from his past life's manga.
But it had been so long. His memory was fuzzy. He mostly remembered the main heroine, Kaguya, and the "Chika Dance" girl, plus Hayasaka.
He didn't have much of an impression of the others.
He brushed the thought aside; it didn't matter if she was a character or not.
[Are you just going to do homework and nothing else?]
[Why isn't the streamer talking?]
After chatting with Moeha, Rin entered the stream and sent a few messages. Since he was the only one besides Moeha, he expected a reaction, but Kei was so immersed in her work she didn't notice.
Rin decided to send a Super Chat (SC) to get her attention.
[10,000 ¥]
[Stop the homework. You're leaking like a sieve.]
"!!!!"
Kei was startled by the sudden notification sound. Her pen slipped. Looking at the screen, she saw the 10,000 yen SC.
"Leaking? What does that mean?"
Kei, who never watched streams, was baffled. Seeing her reaction, Rin continued typing.
[Is this your first time? You've leaked all your personal info.]
[Check your DMs.]
Kei squinted at the screen and eventually found the private message interface.
Rin: [Shuchi'in Academy, Kei Shirogane, right?]
Kei: [How do you know that?]
Kei was terrified. She hadn't even shown her face, yet someone knew her school and name? Was her computer hacked?
Rin: [Your Shuchi'in workbook and your name were visible when you flipped the page earlier.]
Rin: [You're a total amateur, aren't you? You've leaked everything. Be careful next time. If you don't want to show your face, keep metal cups, glass bottles, or tablets away—they all have reflections.]
Rin: [You don't have fans yet so it's fine, but if you run into a stalker, they could find your house with just those clues.]
Kei sucked in a breath. The internet is this dangerous?
She immediately ended the stream and ran to the living room with her phone to show Moeha the DMs.
"Look..."
"Kei-chan, you're so careless! You're so cute, what if someone kidnapped you and locked you in a basement? You owe that person a thank you."
"Right, I almost forgot."
Kei: [Thank you.]
Kei: [I'll refund the SC money to you.]
She realized the SC wasn't a real donation but a way to get her attention. She couldn't let a "good person" lose money.
Rin: [Sure. What's your email? I'll add you.]
After adding Rin, Kei immediately sent him the 10,000 yen.
Usually, the platform and taxes take a cut of SCs, but the kind-hearted Kei didn't want Rin to lose out, so she sent the full amount. She treated the lost commission as "tuition fees."
Rin didn't accept the money immediately but started chatting with her.
Rin: [You're a student, right? Why get into streaming?]
Kei: [My dad made money from it, so I wanted to try.]
Watching Kei chat with Rin on her phone, Moeha snickered to herself... As expected of Big Brother. It hasn't even been twenty minutes and he's already on her friend list.
Rin and Kei became more familiar. Under Rin's expert guidance, the naive Kei began to open up, moving from the reasons for streaming to school friends and then to her family.
Finally, Rin sent the money back to her.
Rin: [Keep the money.]
Rin: [I'm in Tokyo too. I can't help with much, but if you want a part-time job, I can introduce you to some places.]
Rin: [If you want to keep streaming, protect your privacy.]
Rin: [The internet is a deep abyss, kid. You can't handle it.]