I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 176

Magia had sharp instincts, sure—but it wasn’t just gut feeling that made her so certain that the girl in the Magia cosplay was Pino the moment she saw her.

It was because, just as Pino had been observing Magia all this time...

Magia had also been keeping a very close eye on Pino.

Not because she thought he was a potential problem, but because of a strange sense of kinship that she couldn’t quite shake.

The way he acted as a rigger.

The weirdly in-character chat messages he left during her streams.

The donations.

Put it all together, and despite his blunt approach, his way of stanning was... disturbingly similar to Magia’s own past behavior.

Let’s rewind a bit.

How did Magia’s current Live2D model even come into existence?

Dora drew an illustration for her as a thank-you gift.

Magia used it on stream.

Pino saw it and declared, “This won’t do,” then voluntarily became an unpaid slave and rigged a model so high-quality it had 360-degree gravity simulation. Completely unprompted.

At this point, no one wanted Magia to debut as a VTuber more than Pino.

That sheer intensity was on par with Magia’s own dedication to doing dirty work for Do-hee’s sake.

If Magia was the kind of person who would break herself to keep Do-hee’s streams going...

Then Pino was the kind of person who’d do anything to get Magia’s stream up and running.

And, as it turned out, her intuition was spot on.

Even after they passed by each other, Pino kept trailing behind, whispering just loud enough for Magia to hear.

It was like she was saying, I’m here to help you, that’s all!

“Just in case there’s a misunderstanding—please don’t think I was stalking you. I really was just here to buy merch and ran into you by coincidence, I swear.”

Magia didn’t respond.

But that didn’t stop Pino from rambling.

They were almost the same height, which meant Pino’s voice filtered directly into Magia’s ear without effort.

“I mean, yeah, I did cosplay you on purpose. I figured if anyone in the crowd looked horrified, it’d probably be you. I had a feeling. But I didn’t expect to actually meet you! Seriously, never imagined this would happen. I’m a lucky girl~”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it because if you talk, you’ll give yourself away? You don’t have to worry—I already know. The person standing next to me is 200% Magia. How do I know? Because you’re my favorite daughter. No way I wouldn’t recognize you.”

“If you just say one line, I might ascend and disappear right here. What a shame. It’s not like I’m gonna run around screaming ‘Magia came to Mafe!’ or anything. I’m a Slug Squad tier-zero, remember?”

After all that chattering, Magia finally spoke—just as Momo was checking out some merch nearby.

“Stop. Talking.”

Pino immediately slapped her hands over her mouth to hold back a laugh.

Then, eyes shining, she whispered,

“Damn it, it’s Big Gia again. I must worship Big Gia.”

It wasn’t forced laughter—it was real.

You could tell just by the movement of her facial muscles.

Usually, crazy people online turn out to be totally normal in real life.

But Pino? She was the exact same offline as she was online.

Probably from being buried in freelance work for too long, slowly going insane under the crushing weight of debt.

And now look at her.

One word from Magia, and she was actually about to say goodbye.

“Well, I’ve ascended, so I’ll take my leave now. Just knowing you’re still streaming makes this Slug Squad tier-zero fan a happy girl~”

What was this person?

A bit flustered, Magia told Do-hee to keep browsing for a moment, then chased after Pino and stopped her.

“Hold up. Wait.”

“Thus spake Big Gia, ‘Halt, Slug,’ and the Slug did halt and lend ear to Big Gia’s word.”

Was this what mirror therapy felt like?

Magia thought maybe—just maybe—she could finally understand what Momo felt when dealing with her.

At the end of the day, relationships are kind of a food chain, right?

Magia had always been uncomfortable with being praised or put on a pedestal.

Pino, meanwhile, lived for that.

Still—some things needed to be confirmed.

“Pino, I thought you were a shut-in?”

Back when she’d missed Komari’s rigging deadline, Magia had almost broken down Pino’s door trying to talk to her.

Pino, panicking, had told her:

“I’m not good at talking face-to-face with people. Can we talk like this, through the door?”

So Magia had agreed.

But just now, she’d been hanging out with other Magia cosplayers like it was nothing.

If she really had social anxiety, she should’ve just grabbed her merch and run home.

Pino responded without missing a beat.

“When I wear Big Gia’s form, it feels like she’s protecting me. It’s like, temporarily, my anxiety disappears—"

“Stop. That makes no sense.”

“It’s true! It’s a miracle I experienced firsthand. Verifiable! Slug Squad members only reach their final form when they’re inside the chamber of Big Gia’s shotgun.”

“Jesus Christ.”

Could spewing nonsense that confidently make it sound like gospel?

Every one of Pino’s half-sane lines was basically placebo—just delusion.

Magia, now serious, asked again.

“You really do have social anxiety?”

“Yep.”

“And today, it’s just... gone?”

“Been getting better lately. Watching Big Gia’s streams helped a lot with my communication issues.”

“...So really, it’s the streams that helped, not the cosplay.”

“Is it? I dunno. Either way, isn’t that a good thing? Magia’s streams have healing powers. Isn’t that kind of holy, in a way?”

Knowing someone genuinely liked her did make Magia happy.

Because that kind of fan eventually ended up supporting Parallel too—and that helped the whole group grow.

But Pino... definitely didn’t seem normal.

This was the kind of person the world called a zealot.

Still, she wasn’t someone you could bring yourself to hate.

She was a bit much, sure.

But she didn’t give off that dangerous vibe.

Back when Magia was Momo’s manager, there had been fans who’d say:

"Please stream more, or I’ll do something drastic."

The real scary types—putting their life on the line for guilt-tripping.

Compared to that, Pino was just... intense.

Maybe too intense. But not malicious.

Probably why, despite saying wild things every time she showed up in chat, people still found her kind of likable.

Just like Magia used to be, back in the day.

Straddling that line, somehow still on the right side of it.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Even now, glancing around and seeing no more conversation opportunities, Pino took a step back and said:

“Well, I really should go now. We’re in «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the VTuber specialty booth area, and you two already draw enough attention as it is. If I keep following around in Magia cosplay, it’ll only make things more awkward for you.”

“Ah. Right.”

“Um, are you by any chance thinking I’m weird for being too calm today? Like, maybe I’m acting too collected and rational and now you’re wondering, ‘Wait, is this really Pino?’”

“No, you still seem completely insane.”

“The first lunatic officially recognized by Big Gia! That title belongs to who? Me! Pino! Hell yeah! I’ve made it. Gotta change my handle from Pazijik to Saint Fan Pino.”

“...Whatever makes you happy.”

“Well then, I’m off. I’ve got plans to grab food with the other Magia cosplayers I met today. Don’t worry—I won’t breathe a word about running into you. I may be nuts, but I work with Mimex, you know? Top of the industry. I’m known for keeping secrets.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If anyone’s salty about it, maybe they should’ve been able to recognize you like I did. I have the qualifications. That’s why I got to achieve fan-nirvana today. Hehe.”

And with a giggle that didn’t match her cute appearance at all—a giggle way too pervy for comfort—Pino turned to leave.

But just as she was about to return the way she came, she noticed something troubling: even more people had gathered behind Do-hee and Gia, trailing at a distance.

Getting back the way she came was going to be tough. Practically impossible.

And now that she thought about it—those people had already been following Gia back when Pino first spotted her.

“Uh... who are all those people behind you? Are they following you to take photos or something?”

That was when Magia finally turned and flinched.

“No, I didn’t agree to anything like that.”

The moment she saw Gia’s discomfort, Pino pouted, glanced at the merch bag in her hands, retraced their route in her mind, and asked,

“Are you planning to leave after checking out row Z?”

“Yeah. We’ve been walking around for hours. And this wig is cooking my head.”

“Yeah, I feel you. Mine’s boiling too. But uh-oh... I don’t think those people behind you plan to let you leave that easily. They’ve all got that ‘must get a picture’ look in their eyes.”

“Yeah, I noticed. I’ll just shake them off and sneak home somehow.”

“So you’re planning to say no because you’re too tired for pictures?”

“Exactly.”

Pino shook her head slowly.

Her signature Magia-style twin tails bounced left and right.

“If you do that, someone might complain you were being ‘cold’ or ‘standoffish.’ And we can’t have that happen to my oshi for no reason.”

“...Huh?”

She smiled. Not an entirely reassuring smile, either—just a bit too intense. But... still oddly convincing.

“I’ll stick with you until row Z, and when you make a run for the exit, I’ll stall those people for you. Just sprint straight to the car. You brought one, right?”

“Yeah, we drove. But... what do you mean, ‘stall’?”

“If someone tries to block my oshi when she clearly wants to rest, what kind of tier-zero Slug Squad fan would I be if I didn’t do something about it? Don’t worry about me. Just run like you’ve got somewhere urgent to be!”

And strangely enough—Magia believed her.

Online, Pino was the last person you should ever trust... and yet—

“Please just don’t do anything illegal——.”

“Oh come on. I’m not that kind of person, okay? Sure, I messed up some investments and landed in debt, but I’ve never committed or enabled any crimes. I’m squeaky clean. Certified wholesome.”

“...Alright. I’ll trust you.”

“Who am I? The Slug Squad tier-zero—no, maybe tier minus-one—personally endorsed by Big Gia herself. I’ll clear the thorny path so you can walk the flower road, my liege.”

“...Ha-ha.”

With that, Magia peeled off and rejoined Do-hee up ahead.

Naturally, Do-hee—having seen Gia fall behind to talk for that long—had been getting concerned.

“That girl cosplaying you... someone you know?”

“Yeah. That was Pino.”

“...That was Pino?”

Do-hee’s voice jumped in pitch but she caught herself just in time.

Because the idea that Pino had actually spoken to Magia that calmly was just... not believable.

“Pino? That Pino?”

“Yup.”

“Wait... you recognized her?”

“Yeah. With someone that insane, there’s no point trying to hide.”

“But... she seemed oddly normal?”

“If you’d been standing next to us during the conversation, you wouldn’t say that.”

“Okay. So... do you need me to help with anything? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. She’s surprisingly sane. For a lunatic.”

“...What?”

Do-hee stared at her in confusion—

Then suddenly nodded in understanding.

“...Actually, yeah. I know someone like that too.”

“Ugh. Whatever. Just be ready to run when we finish up at row Z.”

“Run? Why?”

“People are still following us for photos. Pino said she’d block them for us.”

“...She’s not planning something crazy, right?”

“She says she’s not. And I’m choosing to believe her.”

“...You believe—ugh. No, fine. If you say so, I’ll believe it too.”

“...Thanks.”

It wasn’t long before they wrapped up the last few booths and reached row Z.

Do-hee and Magia were just heading toward the event hall exit when—

“NOOO!!”

A sharp cry rang out behind them.

Magia immediately broke into a sprint. Do-hee glanced back, saw what was going on, and bolted after her.

There was Pino, sprawled out on the floor, arms sweeping wildly as she blocked the entire aisle—yelling at full volume.

“Where is it?! Where the hell’s my merch?! Who stole my Magia-shower-scene acrylic stand?! I swear it was right here!!”

Total chaos.

Everyone following Do-hee and Magia came to a screeching halt.

As they cleared the gate and jogged together toward the car, Do-hee muttered,

“And that looks normal to you?!”

Magia snorted and replied under her breath:

“For Pino, that’s basically her most normal self.”