Either I can support my neighbor and lose, or focus on myself and let him take the fall. What an irritating conundrum.
I still have some time before I have to make my decision, so I decide to wait and see how things go. If worse comes to worst, I can always delete my channel and bring my view count back down to zero. I might as well do my best as a VTuber in the meantime.
“What about your video, Elsa?” asks Makeup. She’s trying to change the subject, so we stop pestering her. Everyone’s attention shifts to Blondie and Hot Prince. “Weren’t you going to post another to try and calm down the uproar?”
“Well, we just released Prince Lewis’s new video, but…” Blondie looks conflicted. Is there some sort of problem? She’s always so bright and cheerful, her expression seems out of place. “Um, little bird? Was it really okay to upload such a disrespectful video?”
“He gave his explicit permission. You’ve nothing to be concerned about.”
“Indeed. I made this decision myself,” insists the prince. “You may rest at ease, Elsa.”
“Still…”
The rest of us watch this exchange in silence.
“Ahhhn! A shop, thank heavens! And look—this ring! It boosts your critical rate based on how many cursed items you have! Such a find! This one ring will set me up for the whole rest of the game! Shizu is such a little burglar!”
Meanwhile Futarishizuka’s youthful, energetic voice is still blaring from the TV. We know what she’s up to now, so can’t we just turn it off? Her rambling is so packed with info that it’s really distracting me.
“I hear that in Japan, such acts are accepted as perfectly normal,” continues Hot Prince. “Diversity, I believe you call it? Such a wonderful part of your culture. Thus, I do not believe there is anything to be worried about.”
“You heard the man. It won’t be an issue.”
“But, still…,” mumbles Blondie.
Though Blondie looks troubled, the sparrow and Hot Prince don’t seem too concerned.
“Peeps, could you maybe fill me in?” says my neighbor.
“Wait, you mean you haven’t seen it yet?” asks Futarishizuka.
“No, I’ve been too preoccupied with my own videos.”
“Then you should just watch it. You’ll understand right away.”
“What do you mean?”
Futarishizuka uses her phone to change the image on the TV. Instead of her let’s-play, it now shows Blondie’s and the sparrow’s channel. I’ve looked at their account several times myself. The main page shows their latest video. The title is Prince Lewis - New Outfit Reveal!
The video starts playing right away. It was uploaded less than an hour ago, but it already has over a hundred thousand views.
“Ah. I see now,” my neighbor says.
The content of the video is nothing extraordinary. Hot Prince is dressed up like a woman, and he’s really pulling it off.
His dress reminds me of something a foreign princess might wear. Bold slits expose his thighs, and his shoulders are bare. There’s something bewitching about all that exposed skin. His long hair means he doesn’t need a wig. A little bit of adjustment is all it took to make the style look feminine. You’d never guess he was a man.
The comment section agrees, and the video has drawn high praise. It seems like their attempt to drown out the haters is going very well.
“What do you think, Baron Sasaki?” asks the prince. “Is it to your liking?”
“You look gorgeous, sir.”
But Blondie’s expression is still dark as she watches the video. Maybe this sort of thing isn’t as common where she comes from. I hear that in some countries, falsifying your gender is a criminal offense.
My neighbor turns to her with consideration. “But I can understand your concerns, Lady Elsa.”
“Y-yes? I knew you would.”
“Am I correct in assuming that Prince Lewis was the one to suggest this?”
“Indeed, it was my suggestion,” replies Hot Prince. “Now, how has the world responded?”
“As far as I can tell from the comments here and elsewhere on the internet, it has gone over largely well, sir. There is criticism, of course, but far less than before.”
“Ah, excellent. I was hoping to help, so it wouldn’t do if I were to further inconvenience Elsa and the bird.”
“There you have it, Lady Elsa. I don’t believe this video will be a problem.”
“Wait, Sasaki, are you serious?” Makeup interrupts.
“With all due respect, this isn’t all that uncommon here in Japan.”
I read in a library book that Japanese society has been accepting of male homosexuality for over a millennium, so this seems like a reasonable statement to me. Homosexuality was suppressed for a time after the Meiji Restoration because of the infiltration of Christian values, but lately it’s been regaining its former position. The amount of time it was viewed as heresy doesn’t even add up to a tenth of the time it was accepted. Long before people began talking about LGBT rights, such things were considered normal here in Japan.
“And there’s drastically fewer haters in the comments,” notes Futarishizuka. “Hysterical, really.”
“Men do like this stuff. Can’t imagine why,” says Makeup.
“Oh, but we women have Takarazuka, don’t we? Are you saying you don’t enjoy it?”
“Well, I guess I do, now that you mention it…”
Makeup watches the video with a dubious gaze. Hot Prince is very pretty, even compared to me and Makeup, so maybe she’s envious. Everyone has their own tastes in this department, so I don’t want to pass any judgment.
“Elsa, there is actually much to learn from this,” says Hot Prince. “If you ask me, entertainment and government are two sides of the same coin. You must understand the minds of the people in order to control them. I think there is much benefit to be had from studying the mechanisms of this country.”
“I had no idea you’d thought this through so deeply… I’m, um, I’m impressed!” Blondie stammers.
The video’s view count continues to rise, even as we watch it. I search the title on my own phone and see that several news sites have already picked up the story. The channel name and the word “Hot Prince” are trending on social media, too.
“Compared to this, ten thousand views is peanuts,” says Futarishizuka.
“Their channel does have the bureau’s backing,” my neighbor points out.
After we watch the video and chat for a bit, the youngest daughter speaks up. She’s been eating in silence until now, and her tone is stiff and formal.
“Elsa, Grandmother, it is unfair that the family is so focused on your accomplishments. I think it is only right for us to discuss the youngest daughter’s status as well. It is important for a family to spend time soothing their truant child’s traumatized heart. Humans have written about this in many places.”
“Oh, um, I’m sorry. What have you been up to, Type Twelve?” asks Lady Elsa.
“Come, now, girlie,” says Futarishizuka. “How are we supposed to talk about your videos if you’re hiding your account? Don’t you think that’s a bit unreasonable?”
“Urgh-gh-gh.”
All-in-all, I believe our dinner conversation served as a good wake-up call for everyone participating in the contest.