The following Sunday, I had come to the event venue in the city with Kikuchi-san and Mimimi.
“Ohhh! So this is where they hold tournaments!”
“It’s so big…”
Mimimi and Kikuchi-san made comments about the place as they looked around.
We were at an esports studio in Ikebukuro with a black and white interior, and there were about eighty gaming PCs and monitors lined up. We wouldn’t be using all of them, but apparently, they came with the space if you rented it. At the front was a stage for streaming, with a giant multidisplay installed.
An Atafami tournament run by volunteers was about to be held there.
“This is my first time here,” I said. “This is cooler than I expected.”
“For sure! It’s so pretty in here!”
Mimimi agreed, so it was probably safe to assume it actually was cool. After all, I’m the kind of geek who would buy a sewing set with a dragon on it. By the way, Kikuchi-san seemed overwhelmed, as if the place was swallowing her up, so it wasn’t like everyone would have the same opinion.
Though the tournament that day was going to be smaller than the ones held on major long weekends and such, the small- to medium-scale environment was set up for streaming on YouTube.
And I had come here together with Mimimi because—
“Hey, nanashi-kun.”
—the pro gamer I was after was attending.
“Ah, Ashigaru-san. Nice to see you.”
The person I was hoping to ask to be our guest for the career-path seminar was none other than Ashigaru-san.
Pro gamer was a new type of profession, and the title would most likely draw interest from high school students. Since he filmed himself talking in videos and streams, there also shouldn’t be any complaints about his ability to talk on stage. If we could set up an opportunity to show off his skills, like the enka singer who’d come the previous year, then letting him play on a projector or something might be an easy way to get people excited.
In other words, he was the perfect man for the job.
“Sorry for making you come all the way here.” Ashigaru-san glanced over toward Kikuchi-san and Mimimi. “I met your girlfriend before, and… Are you a classmate of nanashi-kun’s?”
“Huh? Ah, yes!” Mimimi seemed momentarily confused by the unfamiliar word nanashi, but she figured it out right away and nodded. She’s as quick on the uptake as I’d expect.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the Atafami player, Ashigaru… Hmm, it’s embarrassing to call myself that to a high school girl.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m a classmate of the guy you called nanashi, Mimimi!”
“M-Mimimi…?”
Ashigaru-san had been embarrassed at introducing himself by his handle, but it seemed that was no problem with Mimimi. This was a pretty unique exchange.
As I was thinking this, for some reason, Ashigaru-san looked between me and Mimimi, then fell into thought about something.
“Man…nanashi-kun…you really…,” he said calmly but in a somber tone. He was probably thinking about how I’d not only brought my girlfriend last time, but now I was bringing another girl, too…
“It’s not like that. The student council is running an event, and Mimimi and I are in charge of it,” I said, making excuses for myself.
Ashigaru-san paused a moment, hmming. “Ha-ha-ha, it’s fine. Just watch you don’t get yourself canceled.”
“C’mon!”
Mimimi and Kikuchi-san didn’t quite get it and were staring blankly. Fortunately.
“But anyway, more importantly!” I said.
“Oh, did you want to talk?”
“Yeah. I wanted to get it done before the event starts.”
As we were chatting, one of the managing staff called out, “Ashigaru-san!” in an impatient tone. “Can I ask you to commentate for the opening?!”
“Ahh, sure… Sorry, nanashi-kun, can you wait a little?”
“Yeah, okay.”
He headed to the streaming commentator’s seat.
“He’s a popular guy…huh,” said Mimimi.
“Well, he is a major pro gamer, and a YouTuber…”
I looked at Ashigaru-san, who took a seat at the commentator’s chair to the side of the stage and adjusted his headset. He wasn’t too far away. He glanced over at us while saying something to a guy who was a little younger than me—he had to be staff or something.
“So then let’s watch for a bit as we wait,” I said.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Mimimi agreed.
“O-okay!”
Mimimi and Kikuchi-san sat down with me in the audience seating. Their eyes were on the commentator’s seat.
Ashigaru-san shared specialized knowledge, making things fun for the audience with the odd joke. Well, Ashigaru-san was the type of pro gamer who regularly uploaded videos for entertainment purposes, but this ability is definitely one of his assets as an entertainer.
“…You want to be like that, too, right, Fumiya-kun?” said Kikuchi-san.
“Yeah. A pro gamer.”
Ashigaru-san started giving the rundown on the competitors participating in the tournament. You could tell even from over here how his expression and voice brightened… As I watched him, I thought vaguely to myself—
So what sort of pro gamer do I really want to be?