After school, I was in Reika-san’s lab for real this time.
Having changed into the female clothes I had prepared.
I’m an idiot. A coward.
Reika-san was not in the lab past 4 PM.
The door was unlocked, so I hesitated to enter, but wandering around the campus also felt wrong, so I took the liberty of resting on the sofa inside. However, I noticed that the laptop Reika-san always uses was not on her desk. I don’t know when she’ll be back. There are many things I, as a high school student, don’t understand.
Himari-san isn’t here either, which is strange. It’s not like the lab is ever tidy, but today it feels… excessively messy.
Just as the suspicion that Reika-san’s absence was the norm and that perhaps a burglar had broken in began to sprout—the lab door rattled.
From the other side, Himari-san appeared, carrying a large plastic bag in her right hand.
“Hello, Himari-san.”
”…”
When I called out to her, Himari-san put down her bag, covered her face with both hands, and after a brief silence.
“What the heck… You’re here like it’s totally normal…”
She muttered as if to herself. It had the faint ring of her innermost thoughts slipping out.
Is my presence confusing her? If so, I’m happy. I took full advantage of my “Kamimura Mayu” appearance and delivered a follow-up blow in a playful tone.
“Is something wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
“No, it’s just that my mind hasn’t caught up to this situation yet…”
Saying that, she moved her frozen feet and sat down on the sofa opposite me.
“The professor? Have you seen her?”
“She hasn’t been here since I arrived.”
“Ah… I see… Does that mean she has a meeting or something outside? She did say she’s been swamped with work lately… Also, the room is in a worse state than before…”
“The door was unlocked so I let myself in, but was that a bad idea?”
“No, I get it, it’s fine. The professor is like that sometimes. It’s not on purpose, but it seems that when she gets distracted by something else, she stops paying attention to what’s in her hands.”
“I’m sorry, I thought about tidying up, but… it’s too messy.”
“If anything, it’s dangerous to touch things carelessly. The professor just shoves all the materials she collects onto the bookshelves. By the way, if you tidy them up somewhere else without asking, the professor will go ‘The thing I’m sure I put here is gone. It’s not here. Not here, not here, not here’ and mess up the room even more, so it’s really better not to touch anything.”
“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but it must be inconvenient with so many things scattered about. There’s hardly any place to walk. What would you do if an earthquake hit?”
“I guess she’ll think about it when an earthquake hits…”
“If there was a source of fire, it seems like it would spread immediately.”
“That’s just too scary, so I begged and pleaded with her to switch to a heat-not-burn tobacco product…”
“I thought the university campus was non-smoking.”
“I think the professor has extraterritorial rights…”
While making tea and continuing our rambling conversation, Himari-san got to the main point.
“So, Mayuki-kun, why are you here?”
“Because I wanted to see you, Himari-san. School just ended a little while ago.”
Frighteningly, my true feelings came out so smoothly.
But Himari-san put a hand to her forehead and muttered, “That again…”
That’s strange, did I say the wrong thing? Was the idea that “Kamimura Mayu” is liked just a grand misunderstanding born from my own self-consciousness, and was I being a nuisance? Anxieties like that swirled within me.
“Did I… do something to offend you…?”
At that, Himari-san said in a fluster.
“No, no, no! That’s not it!”
“Then, why are you being so distant…?”
When I voiced the sediment in my heart, Himari-san slowly began to speak.
“Well, you see, when we first met, I acted like a super big sister… so after learning your true identity, Mayuki-kun, I’ve just been feeling incredibly embarrassed about myself…”
It seemed Himari-san was truly feeling ashamed, and as proof, her speech had turned into strange formal language, and her cheeks were very flushed. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m so glad… I thought maybe you had come to hate me.”
“There’s no way that would happen… I’m a heavy listener of ‘Mayu Channel’… It’s just, I don’t know how I should interact with you anymore.”
To the faltering Himari-san, I boldly made a suggestion.
“In that case, let’s talk a lot and get to know each other.”
“That solution is too constructive!”
I remember reading in some book that the first step to mutual understanding is a face-to-face conversation. It was probably one of the books scattered on the floor around here.
Without pausing, I asked this.
“Himari-san, which do you like more? Me when I’m crossdressing, or me when I’m not?”
“Huhh?”
Her reaction was so dopey that I couldn’t help but let out a “pfft.”
“That was a really weird sound…” she said, embarrassed, and while tilting her head, she let the words slip out, “When you’re… crossdressing… I guess…”
“I’m so glad.”
It’s not good.
But, I thought that was the best response to give.
In my heart, I want to be seen as a man.
But, I’m also aware that I haven’t established any element in our interactions so far that would make her see me from that perspective. So this should be fine.
It was then that the poorly fitted sliding door groaned open.
“I’m back. Ah, it’s hot—Oh, Mayuki-kun, you’re here too.”
I met eyes with Reika-san, who was dressed the same as when I saw her past noon. When I bowed and said, “Pardon the intrusion,” she replied, “Welcome.” It seemed our exchange from four hours ago had been settled.
“Welcome back, Professor. Where were you?”
“Where? To eat, obviously.”
“It’s not obvious! What category of meal do you even call food eaten at this hour!”
“It would be merienda.”
“My lack of knowledge!”
As the two of them started their back-and-forth, I became a bystander. Ah, this is warm. It’s noisy but calming. When you get too used to being in an empty space, you start to miss the sound of people’s voices. This seemed to fill that void.
My gaze fell upon Reika-san as she took her laptop out of her bag. Or more accurately, on her hands.
“That’s a lovely bag. Did you perhaps get a new one?”
When I said that, Reika-san nodded with a “Hmph.” She looked a little pleased.
“As expected of a famous streamer, you have a discerning eye.”
“Hey, did you buy another new one?! You already spend so much money on cars and accessories, and on top of that you lost tens of thousands of yen on horse racing the other day, you should moderate your wasteful spending—eight hundred thousaaand?!”
Himari-san, who had approached the bag, let out a bewildered cry upon seeing the thermal paper in the outer pocket. It appeared to be a receipt.
“Th… this… costs… eight… hundred… thousand… yen…?”
Himari-san looked aghast. It looked as if her soul was about to leave her body through her mouth.
“800,000 for a bag is normal, isn’t it? It’s something you use for a long time, so you have to choose one you like. Besides, Mayuki-kun sitting over there probably has a similar sense of money to me.”
“What did you say?!”
Towards Himari-san, who had whipped her head around, it was my turn to speak.
“Uhm… well, I guess I could probably spend around 800,000… since it’s something you use for a long time.”
“That’s not the issue here! What does that say about my value as a human resource, supporting the professor all day for a daily wage of 10,000 yen?! …I mean. Come to think of it, Mayuki-kun, your source of income is streaming and videos, right? What kind of system do you use to get paid?”
It’s true, the revenue structure for this might be hard to understand unless you’re involved. The system is simple, but opaque. I paused with an “Uhm,” and began to speak.
“There are a few models, but in my case, it’s ad revenue and donations.”
“Ads are the commercials that play in the middle of videos, right? And… donations?”
“For example, Gifts on ‘SHOWROOM’, or Super Chats on ‘YouTube’.”
“I’ve heard of those… I’m not familiar with them since I don’t really spend money on the internet.”
Reika-san, who had at some point put a heat-not-burn cigarette in her mouth, exhaled smoke with a slightly exasperated look.
“You’ve seen it often in movies and dramas, right? The scene where a street performer puts a hat on the ground, and the audience or passersby toss coins into it. They’re doing the exact same thing on the internet.”
Reika-san went on to give a few examples. For instance, viewer comments posted during various streams like chats or musical performances on ‘YouTube’ live broadcasts.
By paying, viewers can make the design of their comments stand out. This increases the probability of getting a reaction from the streamer, and the usage rate is quite high. This was almost exactly in line with my own experience.
“In short, it’s a system that allows viewers to directly provide financial support to creators. From the creator’s side, they can receive support through the goodwill of their viewers. For the viewers, it becomes an indirect investment in maintaining their entertainment. It’s an innovative system that benefits both parties.”
“So, that means I can also directly shower Mayu-chan with money through the internet, right?”
“Why does it have to be that way?”
I’m hesitant to receive donations from my benefactor. Or rather, I just plain don’t like the idea.
“In your case, Himari, you can just give the money directly, can’t you?”
“That’s true!”
“Please don’t agree with that!”
My retort was in vain, and as if to signal the end of the digression, Reika-san cleared her throat.
“Incidentally, there was a year when ‘SHOWROOM’, which first introduced this ‘donation’ system, achieved the highest revenue in the country as a video streaming app. It has now become the standard model for streaming sites… Himari, what have you been learning here? Do you want to fail?”
“The words I wanted to hear the least!?”
“You should take a little more interest in internet business.”
“You’re absolutely right…”
After bluntly telling Himari off, Reika-san came over to where I was.
“So, I’ll ask you straight. How much do you make a month?”
“What a vulgar question!?”
Himari-san interjected on my behalf.
“How rude. This is also a perfectly valid part of my research. The voice of the influencer themself is a valuable resource.”
No matter how much it’s for research material, I think it’s one of the worst things an adult could ask a child.
It might be even more vulgar than asking about the color of their underwear.
“I’m sorry, but according to the service’s terms of use, I’m apparently not allowed to show the data on my dashboard to others…”
I told her that, feeling apologetic.
“Of course, I know that. I’m not telling you to hand over the exact data as is. I promise this will stay between us.”
“Umm…”
The reason I’m able to come and hang out at this lab is because ‘Kamimura Mayu is a research subject’.
If this is necessary information for an expert like Reika-san… maybe it’s okay to tell her.
After thinking in silence for a while, I stated last month’s income.
“Eh… That’s not your annual income, right? That much for your monthly income…? What even is the salary I earn from juggling miscellaneous tasks in the lab and my part-time job as a club coach for a whole month…”
Towards the aghast Himari-san, Reika-san opened her mouth with a nonchalant expression.
“Occasionally, YouTubers appear on terrestrial television and their financial situations are delved into. And it’s a standard routine for the other performers to be astonished by the amount. When you think about it, it’s natural since they’re essentially handling their own production, management, sponsored projects, and content creation, but it’s also no wonder that talents who appear in the media after going through schedule adjustments and various procedures via agency management feel a gap—ah, Himari, you don’t watch TV, do you.”
“The towering economic disparity!”
Himari-san, who had been dealt another blow, recoiled dramatically with an exaggerated motion. At that moment, her large bust was emphasized, and I reflexively averted my eyes. Only Reika-san continued on nonchalantly.
“Since ‘money’ is a value shared by viewers who lead social lives, I can understand that it’s an easy theme to feature when producing a program. However, it’s also a fact that, due to the television industry’s bad habits, excessive dramatization and arbitrary editing lead to the preconceived notion that ‘video creators are loaded’.”
“Professor, do you have some kind of grudge against TV…?”
“They just don’t align with my way of thinking, what with them excessively praising my appearance by calling me a ‘beautiful female professor’, or trying to create a confrontational narrative with the columnist Kannagi Misogi and Housu Gakuen University’s valedictorian, Housen Hana.”
I get it, since I just let the TV run at the dinner table. Both are female talents who are introduced with the epithet ‘beautiful’. She also co-stars with comedians who market themselves on their high academic background and young entrepreneurs.
“Now then, Mayuki-kun.”
Reika-san turned the conversation towards me.
“Tell me the breakdown of your revenue. I want to use it as a reference for my research.”
“I’d like to petition the professor for a wage increase…”
Ignoring Himari-san, who had become like an empty shell, I continued.
“Donations are about 70%… I think. I don’t really run many video ads in the first place. Oh, and I also sometimes get sponsored review projects for products from cosmetics companies.”
“I see. So, you combine the revenue from various routes to reach that amount. Regarding the ad unit price, there are rumor-level stories circulating like ‘just under 1 yen per 10 views’, but in reality, the ad unit price for a video fluctuates based on the ratio of GOOD to BAD button ratings for the content, the CTR, and the disposable income of the viewer demographic, among other things. What is the main viewer demographic for ‘Mayu Channel’?”
“Um… It’s mostly teenage girls. Followed by women in their 20s, and maybe men in their 40s.”
“The main users of the donation service are likely skewed towards men in their 40s. That’s because it’s an age group with high disposable income. I also referenced this data when identifying the profile of the culprit in the stalker incident. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe it as a revenue base on par with corporate sponsorships.”
“To be honest, I don’t know the exact prices either.”
Sponsored reviews are received on a case-by-case basis, so the financial details are clear, but the revenue from the ad network (apparently a system that distributes ads to blogs, videos, etc. I looked it up myself) is consolidated, so it’s difficult to categorize. That was my honest impression.
“I see… That’s amazing, you’re still in high school but you’re studying so diligently…”
It’s not so much that I’m admirable for studying, but in my case, various problems could arise if I didn’t study, so I’ve just accumulated knowledge as a symptomatic treatment. It’s like a papier-mâché facade.
However, it seems Himari-san is genuinely impressed.
Maybe—this is my chance.
My mouth moved reflexively.
“Seeing Reika-san’s bag made me want some new clothes too. Himari-san, would you like to go shopping with me this weekend?”
I said it.
I said it.
I asked her out on a date.
What should I do, was that too sudden? Maybe it was too forceful. No, it was definitely forceful. If you listen closely, it doesn’t even connect to the conversation. If she rejects me, I might get depressed.
“Shopping… with Kamimura Mayu-chan… shopping…”
The next moment, Himari-san clenched her fists with incredible force.
“I wanna go… I wanna go so bad… but… I’ll pass…!!! If you pick out super expensive clothes right in front of me, I’ll end up wanting them too! And I have a policy of not wasting money!”
“I-It’s okay, Himari-san.”
Sensing that this wasn’t going to work, I nocked and fired my next arrow.
“Because I’ll pay for your share, Himari-san!”
“That’s the worst part! A female college student having a male high school student buy her clothes, just imagining it is harsh!”
If the second arrow doesn’t work, then without a moment’s delay, the third arrow!
“Then, how about I give you my hand-me-downs? I’ll buy them, wear them once, and then give them to you, Himari-san.”
“I really don’t want that! A female college student wearing a male high school student’s hand-me-downs, my dignity would be over!”
What should I do?
After pondering for a bit, I placed my index finger on my lips.
While fluttering my long eyelashes, with an upward glance, I consciously aimed for a tone as calculatingly cute as possible.
“But, if you go shopping with me, I can show you my new clothes before I show them on stream, you know?”
I told her that.
Her response was.
“…Haaah. Good grief. Don’t you undereshtimate me. I’ll go.”
It seemed that was a yes.
Himari-san, who had stumbled over her words spectacularly, turned bright red.
Meanwhile, Reika-san was facing her computer, as if to say she wasn’t interested.
And as for me.
“Yay. Well then, I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
While suppressing the urge to jump for joy, I put on a bright smile.
Yes…s!
A date with Himari-san…!
While holding back the overflowing joy in my heart, I once again thanked “Kamimura Mayu” for creating this opportunity.
At the same time, I renewed my resolve.
This weekend, I will absolutely go out without crossdressing.