Chapter 23 - Too Much Information
Day 7 (Saturday)
It was Saturday, so I woke up after a good, long lie-in.
Hmm, just before 10 AM. Yawn~, I slept well...
"Good mor—"
"Brother, I think it's too late for 'good morning,' don't you?"
"You, have you had breakfast?"
Miki shook her head at my question.
The rice was pre-ordered and cooked, she could've just made something, I thought, but it was too late now.
"Wait a minute."
I prepared and ate a Japanese-style breakfast of tamagoyaki, miso soup, and pickles.
"So, do you have any plans today?"
"No, nothing in particular, you know. But there's no food for lunch or dinner. I think we need to go shopping."
"You want me to take you, huh? Fine by me."
I slurped my miso soup.
First, I'll do the dishes and run the washing machine. I can clean when we get back.
"Do you want anything in particular?"
"No? I just want to go out with you, Brother."
"...Well, alright."
Either way, IRO is in the early afternoon. I told Mion I'd be online from 1 PM, so as long as I'm back by lunchtime, it should be fine.
*
"Hey there~."
"Shou-kun."
"You're here~."
After lunch, I first showed my face in the Virtual Club Room. Not just Mion, who was waving, but President Bell was also there, intensely focused on something.
"What are you two doing?"
"They're checking comments on yesterday's video and announcement."
As I took my seat, President Bell seemed to finish, closing the video.
Apparently, videos with a sudden surge in views tend to attract strange advertisements and dubious phishing links.
It was supposed to be Mion and me handling it, but since there's a lot of them now, they're helping out.
"How many views do you have?"
"The first video has over 200,000 views, and yesterday's video has over 50,000. Our subscriber count is approaching 4,000, so we've cleared the monetization requirements in no time."
"Huh?"
According to President Bell, the conditions are over 4,000 total watch hours in the past six months and over 1,000 subscribers.
With just an 8-minute video reaching 200,000 views, the total watch time was easily cleared, and the subscriber count too, of course.
"Um, are you going to start the monetization process already?"
"Perhaps a little later. But we should definitely report it to the school."
Since it's both a club activity and a part-time job, formal school approval is required.
Apparently, there was some contention when President Bell did it last year, but in the end, it was deemed a good decision to approve it.
Well, with that much in donations, of course...
"For now, should we just continue posting videos as usual?"
"Yes. Maybe twice a week. I think it's good to consistently upload relaxed content, even if there isn't a specific 'topic.'"
Well, honestly, I feel like people would be satisfied just with Mion talking cutely.
"About that, Shou-kun again... This is still in the middle of editing, but could you take a look?"
Mion said, sharing a video.
"Again? Did something happen?" I wondered as I skimmed through it... It was Lupi!
"...I've never seen a wolf like this before? This '?' display is new too. Is the species appraisal failing?"
The video was from the day I rescued her, so it showed me giving first aid.
"Wait, wait. That's too much information..."
"First aid seems convenient, but isn't it used much?"
"No, because of the ability to acquire Holy Magic, first aid is generally considered a 'miss' skill. But the fact that it can be used without MP, and that you achieved a 'great success' with this substitute 'Hermit Bamboo Grass' is mysterious."
President Bell, though flabbergasted, seemed to already be considering alternative uses.
And then, Mion showed another video, this one seemingly unedited.
"..."
Ah, she froze.
"Aren't there any players who've acquired the [Taming] skill?"
"It was said to be an unimplemented skill in the closed beta, you know?"
"Didn't anyone try it after the open beta?"
"From the looks of this, it seems the prerequisite was not being able to acquire it at all unless the target was extremely friendly.
And it's a rare skill requiring 9 SP. The hurdle is too high for initial players to acquire it right away."
I wouldn't have the courage to use 9 out of my initial 10 SP either...
"Um... what should we do?"
"What do you mean, 'what should we do'? This definitely needs to be released.
There are players aiming to be 'Tamers,' but there's been so little information that they're in a 'wait-and-see' state.
If they know about this, they'll have a more concrete approach."
Ah, I see...
It was surprising enough for me when it became available. And then I flinched when it said 9 SP.
Well, I didn't have a choice but to take it then, though.
"This creature easily defeated that Bicobit. Considering its future growth, [Taming] seems like a very strong skill..."
It's good that both Lupi and the [Taming] skill are highly praised, but if it leads to a flood of tamers, I wonder how that would turn out.
No, it doesn't really concern me, so it's fine. They can't come to my island to complain.
"Shou-kun's actions don't seem that special, so didn't other players encounter similar situations?"
"I can't really say. I've never been in a situation where I had to help an injured animal myself," said President Bell.
"Are there no quests like that? I thought what I was doing might be a quest."
"Ah, I see. Not something you get from a guild, but a quest triggered by something..."
President Bell nodded to herself, falling into a world of analysis and speculation.
I thought the game was more like, "We made an Uninhabited Island and threw some monsters in, so go have fun." That's good enough for me.
"Shou-kun, you have to talk about the bear too."
"Oh, right. Um, yesterday, when I was exploring deeper in there..."
I expected them to be surprised again, but apparently, the bear called an Armor Bear isn't that rare. President Bell had already defeated one.
"A character at level 3 who isn't combat-focused, and solo at that, wouldn't stand a chance. My character and the others were around level 7, and it took five of us."
...That's what she told me.