ãâWhat?âã
The astonished expression on Shitenno made me tilt my head in confusion.
Did I say something strange?
ãYou, the âinstant translatorâ, back then?ã
ãBack then?ã
ãNever mind, itâs nothing.ã
ãReally? Well, okay then.ã
Shitenno dodged the question.
What exactly was he trying to say?
But still⦠Ah, if only all of humanity could be given a language cheat, itâd be so much easier.
Well, thatâs impossible.
ãBut somedayâ¦ã
Someday, it will surely come.
A time when everyone can casually use powers equivalent to a language cheat.
TV, internet, cell phones.
Humanity has always turned cheat-like abilities into reality through science.
A world where language cheats are meaningless.
Thatâs my ideal.
My first life goal is watching streams. My second goal is this.
Eliminate language barriers for all VTubers.
And when thatâs achieved, itâll also be time for âTranslator Girlâ to retire.
Though, I donât know how many years or decades thatâll take.
Even if the technology is realized, itâll take an enormous amount of time to support all languages.
ãâ¦ã
Shitenno was silently pondering something.
I couldnât tell what he was thinking.
But, sometimes solutions and ideas come from casual conversations and everyday places.
After all, even scotch tape and pencils can lead to a Nobel Prize in Physicsâ¦
***
ãSo! I had Bancho teach me, and her explanations were super clear!ã
ãHmm?ã
ãAnd maybe itâs because itâs my oshis' voice? It felt like I memorized every single word!ã
ãHmmm?ã
During a meal, I was talking to Ogu about the study session with Bancho.
Ah, what a blissful time it was!
But unfortunately, Bancho is also very busy, so our schedules rarely match up.
Next time might be quite far offâ¦
ãAh, if only Bancho could teach me every day, my grades would improve so quickly⦠Wait, Ogu, is something wrong?ã
ãNot really~~?ã
ãDid something bad happen?ã
ãYeah!? Maybe it did!?ã
Um? What kind of reaction is this?
Wait, could it be⦠this pattern isâ¦
ãAre you angry with me?ã
ãHaha, you noticed pretty quickly today, Iroha.ã
ãReally? Have I finally become able to understand Oguâs feelings?ã
ãIâm not complimenting you!? That was sarcasm!ã
ãHuh? Really!?ã
But I donât remember doing anything to make her angry.
There shouldn't have been any touchy topics. I was just talking about Bancho the whole time.
ãAnd itâs not like youâd be angry about Bancho.ã
ãI am angry! What else could it be but Bancho!?ãn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
ãWhat!? But I always talk about my oshi, donât I?ã
ãThatâs different!ã
ãâ¦This is hard.ã
I donât understand whatâs different. Why is Bancho not okay?
Itâs not like Iâm treating her specially. For me, âspecialâ only applies to Angu Ogu and the othersâ¦
Well, all my favorites are unique and special!?
Not in that way.
ãAnyway! If you just want to be taught by your oshis' voice, it doesnât have to be Bancho!? There are educational VTubers tooâ¦ã
ãIâve watched them all.ã
ãUh!? Then, what if I teach youâ¦ã
ãCan you?ã
ãUgh!? But I can at least read the textbook aloud!ã
Honestly, that would make me very happy.
In fact, if she did that, Iâm confident I could memorize the entire textbook. Butâ¦
ãWhere would Ogu find the time? Youâre already super busy.ã
ãUgh!? You always have a comeback!ã
Even if she says that, I was just stating the facts.
Did my dissatisfaction show on my face?
Ogu shouted.
ãUgh!? I donât care anymore! Then, Iroha shouldâ¦ã
ãâââHave the ârelaxed voiceâ read the textbook to you!ã
ãâ¦Huh?ã
ãW-What?ã
Ogu was puzzled by my sudden freeze.
I grabbed her hands firmly.
ãHuh!? Iroha!?ã
ãOgu, thatâs⦠genius! Really, itâs the best idea!ã
I stood up, still holding Oguâs hands, and spun around.
Why didnât I think of this sooner? Silly me!
Right, thereâs text-to-speech software that can mimic VTubersâ voices!
Solutions and ideas often come from unexpected places!
ãOgu, youâre the best! I love you, Ogu! Thank you!ã
I was so excited that I shouted such things.
But it seemed to have a positive effect.
ãR-Really? Hehe! Right? But wait, Iroha. Did you just say you love me!?ã
Oguâs mood improved.
With that settled, there was a lot to do.
I turned to the computerâ¦
***
The next week, my grades had completely changed.
Perfect scores. Perfect scores. An array of perfect scores.
Even on tough quizzes, I was acing them one after another.