Chapter 11 - Chicken Curry
It's about time to wrap things up, everyone."
I heard Yata-sensei's voice and hurriedly returned to the makeshift tent.
For now, I'll log out to sleep again.
"Phew…"
Returning to real view, everyone seemed to have already removed their VR HMDs, so I quickly took mine off too.
"The Cybernetics Club basically finishes club activities at 5:45 PM, so remember that."
"After that, we'll clean up, and leave the club room by 6:00 PM."
I see, understood.
I hear sports clubs often go until almost 7 PM, and serious cultural clubs like the brass band do too.
Compared to that, this club is pretty chill. Good, good."
After a quick tidy-up of the desks, today's club activities were over.
Everyone left the club room, and Yata-sensei locked up last.
As we walked down the corridor of the cultural club building, with Yata-sensei and Bell-buchou in front… they really stood out. I could see glances darting their way, drawn to the line of beauties.
"Today, Bell-san has a live stream starting at 8 PM, so both of you should watch it in the Virtual Club Room for future reference."
…So the real work starts after I get home, huh?
Well, if I'm going to do it, I guess I should seriously watch Witch Bell's stream as an example.
"How often do you usually stream?"
"Before IRO started, it was twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 PM for about an hour."
"Is it different now?"
"Since it's a trending game, I'd really like to play all week, but…"
Yata-sensei gave Bell-buchou a smiling… glare.
"Streaming is limited to three times a week. The two new members should remember that too."
"…Understood."
Along with my reply, Izumo-san nodded slightly.
Well, it probably means 'don't have club activities at weird hours.'
"This week, it's scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday. What you saw earlier was on Sunday, the opening day. So, today is Tuesday, and then Thursday, the day after tomorrow, are planned streams. Each will be a little over an hour, I suppose."
"We absolutely cut off streams by 10 PM. There's a rule that minors under 18 can only appear on live broadcasts until 10 PM."
Yata-sensei is really on top of things.
Well, if that pace is fine, and Mion-san and I don't really need to become popular, then it might be fun like a little hobby.
"By the way, it's okay to play IRO even when not streaming, right?"
"Of course. In fact, all the preparation to make the stream look good is quite a lot of work, you know?"
Ah, right…
If you want to show the good parts in just over an hour of streaming, you really need to finish the prep work beforehand.
As we chatted, we exited the club room building.
"Well then, I'll head back to the faculty room, so everyone please be careful on your way home."
And with that, Yata-sensei left.
Thanks for your hard work…
"I'm home!"
"Brother, you're late!"
My silly sister was furious, but it couldn't be helped.
"It's club activities, club activities. This is generally the time I'll be home from now on."
"What did you say?!"
I got home before 7 PM. I guess it's understandable for my silly sister to be angry.
Plus, if I do the housework, it'll be cutting it close to log in at 8 PM. I'll have to talk to her.
"Did you prepare dinner? Leftover curry from yesterday is fine for tonight."
"Nope."
"Alright…"
At that, my silly sister cheered, "Yay!" and disappeared towards the dining room.
You're really carefree, aren't you…
I defrosted and heated the frozen curry in the microwave, poured it over the rice I'd prepared that morning, and voilà—second-day chicken curry was ready.
Then, from the vegetable drawer… I guess I'll chop some cabbage for a salad.
"It's ready! Bring it over!"
"Understood!"
Mm, the chicken and vegetables, simmered to perfection—that special second-day taste, it's wonderful.
Chicken curry always tastes a bit lacking when freshly made, so I always want to let it sit overnight.
"Alright, let's eat."
"Let's eat!"
Her gobbling down the curry so deliciously was cute, but…
She's a sassy sister in a different way than my older sister, but it's more fun than eating alone, so I guess it's fine.
"So, Brother, what club did you join?"
"The Cybernetics Club."
"Hoh, how intriguing."
"Well, it's pretty much a club for playing games, so if you come to this school next year, you should join."
"Mm, I shall!"
After saying that, I wondered if I could really get along with Mion-san, but I guess I'll deal with that when the time comes.
It's best to put off problems that there's no point worrying about now.
"Crap, only 5 minutes left!"
In my room, I hurriedly put on my VR HMD and entered the Virtual Club Room of the Cybernetics Club, which looked like a typical adventurer's tavern.
Yata-sensei and Mion-san were already there.
"Made it…"
Shou-kun, are you busy?
"Ah, yeah. My parents aren't exactly on separate assignments, but they're both gone, so I have to make dinner, including my sister's portion. Today was easy since it was leftover curry from yesterday, though."
That's amazing.
Mion-san looked surprised, but I think there are quite a few households like this.
No, wait, is it weird that I'm making dinner instead of my older sister or younger sister?
"When starting a stream with Mion-san, would it be better to start a little later?"
"If possible, that would be…"
I realized Yata-sensei's outfit was the same idol costume she had Mion-san wear earlier. So it is her hobby.
As we conversed, the "Stream Starting Soon!" display on a window at the edge of the table wiped out.
Yay! Witch Bell's IRO live play is starting!
"Bell-buchou, she's quite the actress…"
The title call was spoken in the center of the screen, but it quickly moved to the bottom left, and IRO gameplay began.
Is this the Kingdom? The Empire? The area was overflowing with viewers hoping to join her party.
First, I'm heading to one of the early quests, the Goblin Settlement Extermination Quest!
The chat exploded at those words. Is it similar to what I encountered? I'm curious…
Then, a whisper from Mion-san tickled my earlobe.
"Shou-kun's island's goblin settlement, is it similar to that?"
"Yeah, I was wondering about that too."
"By the way, are you going to play after this stream?"
"No, not today. This stream will probably last until before 10 PM."
"Understood."
Yeah, that whisper voice gives me shivers; it's not good for my heart…