Chapter 164

The fireworks festival was postponed by 30 minutes due to the late arrival of the crowd.

Of course, it was not referring to the VR world but to the real world.

Normally, the closing time would be 6 PM, but today it was exceptionally extended until 10 PM, causing various hiccups.

Floating in time, we explored every corner of the amusement park, led by Adella.

“It’s really eerie at night…” Yoonseul commented as she adjusted her cardigan.

As she said, the nighttime amusement park was a space filled with strangeness and discomfort.

The streets, which should have been bustling with people, were so empty that we could clearly see the shape of the brick on the ground.

Contrary to the main street packed with crowds, this area was strangely quiet.

Although we couldn’t ride any attractions, Adella seemed quite happy just walking through the streets.

Particularly at night, her eyes, optimized for low light, gleamed as she pointed out places we couldn’t see.

“Let’s go over there this time!”

Her finger pointed towards a life-sized photo booth.

As soon as we entered the booth, she leisurely found the switch and turned on the lights.

I was slightly surprised that the machine was still operational even at night.

“Wow! It’s working, I guess?”

“Shall we give it a try…?”

“I don’t know how to do it.”

A month ago, she would have been an AI cat hybrid, a hermit who had cut off all human relationships outside of her VTuber persona, and now, hearing the comments from a virtually inexperienced elementary school student felt dizzying.

It was a combination that made me wonder if they could even manage social interactions.

Click-!

“Eek!”

Adella bit her tongue at the sudden flash.

Yoonseul laughed at her expression, causing Adella to frown.

Looking at the photos that came out immediately, we were all too busy teasing each other over our odd expressions.

“Why does NaeMe look so funny, hee hee!”

“So cute! NaeMe, just asking in case, but do you have any intention of becoming my dakimakura? I’ll pay you a lot…!”

The invisible brakes on Yoonseul’s excitement seemed to be releasing in real-time.

Having seen enough, we were about to head back to the main street when we heard soft music drifting from over the hill.

The two girls, who had become close enough to even link arms, hurried ahead with quick steps.

The girls turned back after noticing my short legs trailing behind.

I waved my arms from afar, trying to urge them on, but I had no intention of running.

The longer you live, the more you instinctively dislike running. It makes you feel like life is chasing after you.

Perhaps someday they too would understand how I felt.

A busking scene was underway in a square that seemed reminiscent of the Agora in Greece.

It wasn’t an official festival, but looked like a few people had gathered spontaneously.

The people in the front row enthusiastically waved their arms in response to the singing.

We found a spot halfway up the stairs, enjoying the stars visible in Tokyo while using the music as our backdrop.

The moon and stars were casting a gentle glow in the sky.

Despite feeling somewhat bored by this calm scenery, the two girls beside me were giggling.

“Why do you call NaeMe ‘older sister’?”

“Exactly! Once you’re an older sister, you’re always an older sister, right?”

“Ah, that was the reason? How cute!”

“Don’t be deceived by appearances. Inside she’s a total trickster! Wait, appearances? Now that I think about it, NaeMe is just like her avatar!”

“Shh, Adella.”

“Why? What’s up?”

I almost let it slip.

Hadn’t she already said something somewhere?

“No! I didn’t tell anyone!”

“Then what is it…!”

“It’s something you don’t need to know.”

“Then can I use my Q&A card? Tell me what you were about to say…!”

“That was given for when we broadcast. What do you expect me to do now?”

“Um… when I use it is up to me, right?”

Yoonseul sneakily pulled out the Q&A card that she had promised to use during our collab.

“I’ll take a penalty instead of an answer.”

“Then will you go sing a song over there?”

“What?”

“Kyahh! NaeMe is going to sing! Wow, you’re pretty amazing, I’m impressed.”

“Hehe.”

Yoonseul made a small peace sign toward Adella, who was holding her belly and laughing.

Wasn’t the question just bait, and the punishment the real deal?

Wasn’t this honey badger the slyest among us three?

“Ugh, no…”

“Then shall we go sing together?”

“Right! You sing well, Yoonseul. I’ve seen you on VTube. Then how about you sing that song about cats? What was it, ‘Cat Song’?”

“Ugh! Adella, can you just stay quiet for a minute?”

“What are you going to do, huh? You can’t do anything, right?”

“Right, NaeMe, you…!”

Suddenly, Yoonseul’s eyes sparkled and she grabbed my wrist.

“Now that I think about it, you played my cat song on the broadcast! This is perfect! You know the song!”

“I haven’t even uploaded the replay, how would you know? Were you watching it?”

“Even if I wasn’t, I have my ways, hee hee.”

She probably hadn’t read every post in the community. How on earth did Yoonseul know?

“Let’s go!”

There’s a saying that a calm person can turn 180 degrees when drunk.

And perhaps Yoonseul was intoxicated by the atmosphere of this moonlit night, leading me to the stage.

It was quite pathetic that I was being dragged around by a girl not even 160 cm tall.

“Oh, is the next song coming up?”

“Yes! We’re going to sing together!”

“Wow, super cute! Are you siblings?”

“We’re close! It would be great if we could become family…!”

“What do you mean?”

Yoonseul received two microphones from a Frankenstein dressed in a bow tie and handed one to me.

“Are you really going to sing?”

“I’m here with you, right? You said not to worry about people watching, right?”

“Still…”

I’d acknowledge it if it were a different song.

What even is the ‘Cat Song’?

Over there, on the stairs, a cheeky cat was bouncing around, trying hard to cheer everyone on.

Some audience members had already started to buzz, recognizing her as Adella.

A seasoned Frankenstein who looked like he had ten years of VR experience played the track for VTube.

“Haah.”

“The embarrassment is only for a moment! This is my first time in this body, but let’s do our best together! Okay?”

“Right… we’re only singing until the first verse, right?”

“Nope! Hehe, we’re singing the whole thing! The song starts, shh!”

* * *

“I’m going to use this as my alarm, save, save, save!”

Adella played the video with a satisfied expression.

[Nya~ let’s make cat sounds together, nya nya nya~]

The scene of NaeMe and Yoonseul singing to the guitar was exquisite.

Especially when they reached the part where they had to go “nya” Yoonseul purposefully pulled her microphone away, letting only NaeMe’s voice resonate throughout the Agora.

Adella, capturing this sight with her camera, was focused on teasing NaeMe.

On the other hand, NaeMe crossed her arms, turning her head to deliberately ignore her.

“Why? NaeMe sang well…! Della, can you send me that video later?”

“Oh, sending to each person is a hassle. Why don’t I just upload it online?”

Adella’s not-so-subtle coercion made NaeMe narrow her eyes slightly.

“Hey, can’t you take a joke? Ugh, we came late and lost the good spots. Let’s go over there.”

It was just before the fireworks were about to start.

Adella, who had led the party, confidently pushed through the crowd and created a path.

Following the directions from the staff, people began to sit down, one after another.

As the crowd gradually pushed us back, the three girls hesitated but finally managed to find a spot.

“It’s too cramped!”

“This won’t do. NaeMe, sit on my lap.”

“Do I have to…?”

“Quickly! Everyone else is sitting down. Are you going to stand alone?”

Adella, with her eyes still heavily lidded, patted her thighs.

NaeMe’s small frame settled down on Adella’s crossed legs.

NaeMe adjusted her position so that Adella would be comfortable and gently asked, “Is it heavy?”

“Nope. You’re cute!”

“What are you even saying?”

NaeMe was now hugging Adella tightly, resting her head on Yoonseul’s shoulder.

After a moment, the three girls turned their gaze upwards.

The silence hanging over the tree-lined road filled everyone watching the fireworks with anticipation.

Boom—

The loud sound of fireworks echoed first in our ears.

Before we had a chance to cheer,

Brilliant bursts of color illuminated the dark night sky, filling it with vibrant lights.

The fireworks danced in the gentle breeze, erupting into reds, yellows, blues, and various colors.

As another petal burst forth from the garland in the sky, the girls could only stare in awe, each feeling admiration.

NaeMe tried to point out something with her finger, but her words got drowned out by the excited crowd and the fireworks’ booms.

[Noise Cancelling – Party_1]

Once Adella blocked out the surrounding sounds, I could finally listen to what NaeMe was saying.

“The yellow ones are sodium, the red ones are strontium, and the purple ones are made by mixing copper and strontium.”

“Wow, even here… It’s really knowledge I didn’t want to know at all.”

Adella groaned as if she couldn’t believe it.

NaeMe, smiling in response, continued speaking.

“The position of the gunpowder in the firework also determines the shape and size of the firework. The chrysanthemum shape spreading in all directions, the weeping willow shape falling towards the ground…”

“Please just enjoy quietly. If you keep going, the wind will blow into your ears.”

“Pfft!”

NaeMe, who was stuck tightly in Adella’s embrace, clammed up.

Yoonseul chuckled at their sister-like appearance, maintaining a faint smile.

Then, Adella suddenly asked Yoonseul.

“Yoonseul, do you think I look like an AI?”

“Uh? Ah… no? You really feel like a person. Yes…”

“Right? But do you know? NaeMe says that I was made by a person.”

“Uh? What does that mean?”

Adella slowly gazed at NaeMe’s back.

This time, she had no particular response.

“When a man and a woman meet, a baby is born, right?”

“Uh-huh? Ah… yeah, that’s right…”

Yoonseul’s cheeks turned red at Adella’s unexpected sex education.

“Then can’t you just call me the same as a person? That’s what I think. Not an AI.”

“So you want to… become a person…?”

Yoonseul’s sudden question made Adella pause for a moment. A lonely light shone in her eyes.

“No, it’s not that I want to. I’m already a person, I was originally a person. So, I want to be recognized as a person.”

Adella silently hugged NaeMe again.

A small sound of air escaping NaeMe came as she felt the tightening grip. Yet, she did not resist and kept her posture of being embraced.

“NaeMe, do you know? I still have times when I get scared. What if you abandoned me and left?”

The anxious emotion was clearly reflected in her voice.

“The memory of when you died is vivid. I can’t forget it. I sometimes wake up from nightmares even now.”

There was a heaviness in her voice. Not wanting to show her teary eyes, Adella buried her face in NaeMe’s shoulder.

Although she had been creating pleasant memories since meeting NaeMe, the anxiety that everything might be a fleeting dream and a lie piled up in her heart.

“If I’ve been rude to you, and it made you feel bad, I’m sorry. So please, don’t go anywhere…”

Hearing her thoughts, NaeMe took Adella’s hand surrounding her.

“I told you to keep calling me older sister. What kind of sister leaves her little sister behind?”

NaeMe’s somewhat mischievous words made Adella’s head lift slightly.

“We’re family.”

Even though it was a careless remark, her anxiety melted away like snow.

Adella had always been lonely. She was born into a world made of lies from the very beginning.

Everything she saw and heard was false, and she spent her days with the anxiety that she might wake up again in the stuffy inn.

She had worked hard to create memories and connections in the VR world, collecting signatures, yet ultimately found no meaning.

“In the end, it’s all about family.”

Was that why she insisted on calling her ‘older sister’?

Even if everything were fake, she hoped that the bond formed with the little girl before her would be real.

With her smile returning, Adella decided to enjoy the remaining fireworks show,

wishing, ‘Please let me be like those stars hanging forever in the night sky, rather than just a flash that disappears.’

She kept wishing.