Chapter 103 – It was helpful, or maybe it wasn't.

Now we wеrе ехрloring the seсоnd floor.

Аppеаling tо thе listеnеrs is importаnt, after аll.

I mаde surе tо сlеаrly dеplоy a glоwing mаgiс сircle in thе air аnd cast my mаgiс from there, making it visuаllу obvious.

Got it, got it.

It reаllу is an era where flаshу, easilу understаndаblе visuаls matter more thаn quietly wоrking hаrd withоut standing out!

Тhоugh gоing overbоard will definitеly come bасk to bite уоu.

“Whoа, that’s amаzing. With Modern Мagiс, уou know, you use аn A-Рhоnе to inрut codе tо usе it, but the effеcts аrе usuаllу рrettу limitеd.”

“Is thаt so? Sрiсe has never used Modern Magic, so I wouldn’t know.”

That’s true.

I only use real magic!

‘Hey, Masterrr! I don’t wanna be called by my name in front of this girrrl! Use a fake name for me, pleeease! I’ve already thought of a cool one!’

“Oh ho? And what is this fake name?”

Ignite is wary of Hazuki-chan.

She doesn’t even seem to be the type who uses magic herself, so what’s he scared of?

‘Let’s go with Flamel!’

“Ooh, so edgy! Alright then! Grimoire Flamel!”

‘Ooooh!!’

He replied energetically via telepathy, and Ignite shot out.

“Explode Fireball!!”

A sphere of fire flew toward the frame-like monster that appeared in the music room.

It struck the moving musician’s frame, exploded with a BANG, and turned the entire surrounding area into a sea of flames!

‘UGWAAAAH!!’

Don’t worry, the flames die down once the monster burns up.

Properly controlled Flame Magic is safe.

“B-Beethoven’s been defeated!”

※ ‘Hazuki-chan, that’s Brahms.’

“Eh, really? Now that you mention it, it did seem to have a beard…”

She was having a rather carefree exchange with the comment section.

Ah, Brahms bursts forth from the inferno!!

“This guy’s got guts!”

‘As expected of a Higher-Tier Demon!!’

A strange beam from Brahms’s mouth!

“Whoa!”

Spice hurriedly uses Levitation!

He jumps up to evade.

“Shouldn’t Brahms fight with music?”

※ ‘Hazuki-chan is making a snarky comment…’ ‘Maybe the monster is just imitating the outer shell?’ ‘Is now the time for snarky comments?! lol’

“Seems that way. Then let me give it a try. I can also use something like magic, you see… So, here, from the anti-fan comments, a Shikigami is generated…”

A Shikigami generated from anti-fan comments!?

As her A-Phone glowed, something like a doll made of origami flew out from it.

‘Uoooooh! Sooo scaryyy! A lump of curses refined by absorbing human will and Life Force, effortlessly controlled by a monster!’

“That’s such a dangerous Sponsored Deal? A cute, active high school girl Top Streamer is actually a top-notch curse user…? This is definitely the type whose true name must never be known.”

Now that you mention it, I think Mr. Daikyo also said there are streamers who use other people’s malice or anti-fans as fuel.

Who would have thought the current top streamer would be one!

Ah, she flicked away a Brahms that approached while she was preparing with a flick of her finger.

Couldn’t she easily win with just physical combat without even using curses?

‘I think she’s burning with competitive spirit against you, Master. As a curse user, she’s top-class and could easily be the main attraction with just that, but that monster of a girl is on a whole other level where she can even use those curses on a whim as a bonus.’

“Eeep.”

Collaborating with her makes you realize the monstrous nature of a Top Streamer.

Kiraboshi Hazuki, who poked a disobedient curse physically as an example, destroyed one to instill fear.

The now obedient curse creates a Barrier, trapping Brahms’s frame!

When she bonks it with a Virtual Burdock, Brahms shatters with a ‘UGWAAAAH!!’.

Unbelievable.

But Spice will do his job properly!

He’s a working adult, after all!

“Hazuki-chan, you’re really amazing! With Spice’s magic, I still can’t finish off powerful monsters…”

“Mine is more like… brute force!! Well, if Little Spice is a Magical Girl, then I’m an Onmyo Girl…”

※ ‘Onmyo Girl lololol’ ‘She’s got some nerve lolol’ ‘Isn’t she a Curse Girl?’

“Grrr! You guys!”

She’s wrestling with the comment section.

But if brute force becomes your one-hit-kill pattern, there’s no problem at all.

In her case, she’s achieved that.

And here, we took a short break and looked back.

“This is the ninth of the seven mysteries. How can there be nine of the seven mysteries?”

Since she tilted her head in confusion, I decided to offer some adult perspective.

“Well, having more than seven ‘seven mysteries’ is pretty common in games, right? Probably doesn’t have any deep meaning.”

“Now that you mention it, maybe… Alright, then the next of the seven mysteries is… the tenth one, right?”

Saying it out loud makes it obviously weird!

Spice couldn’t help but laugh.

“The tenth of the seven mysteries… Ahahahaha—”

Both Hazuki-chan and the comment section seemed to find it heartwarming.

Cute comments flooded in, and whoa, I can feel the Power-up.

Spice really competes on cuteness.

The stage of battle is different.

My immediate rivals are probably Hazuki-chan’s junior at Ikaruga Entertainment, Shikano Momiji (Rank 3 on the Streamer Cuteness Ranking), and the yet-unseen Virtual Female Avatar uncle, Satan Ira (Rank 2 on the Streamer Cuteness Ranking).

It’s a terrifying ranking where even with organizational support, Hazuki-chan can only reach 5th place.

Now, the final mysterious Demon was the paired mirrors.

Even though there was only one mirror, when you peered in, another mirror appeared behind you.

From beyond the infinitely repeating mirrors, another version of yourself reached out, trying to drag you into the mirror…!

Or so it seemed.

“Let’s see?”

Right before Hazuki-chan’s eyes as she peered in, the inside of the mirror became infinite paired mirrors!

Who would willingly walk into a trap like that—!

“Hey, Hazuki-chan! How can it be paired mirrors with just one mirror when there’s no mirror behind you!?”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right—!”

The Hazuki-chan deep within the mirror grinned and reached out her hand.

‘It’s a Magic attack that affects the mind!! A pretty powerful one at that!! Probably one of those Demon Generals confirmed to be out there!!’

“That powerful!?”

I thought this had become serious, but…

“Acho!”

Hazuki-chan, who had somehow already drawn her Virtual Burdock, gave that mental attack a little pat with it.

She hit a mental attack…?

‘Ah, a physical attack that works on the mind too!! My natural enemy!! Scary!’

‘UGWAAAAH!!’

The mirror shattered with a CRACKLE.

The Dungeonization of the surroundings began to dissolve at an incredible speed.

Seems we defeated the Dungeon Boss.

Just like that, so bluntly.

Left behind was a large Dungeon Core, rolling on the ground.

Hazuki-chan went, “Acho—” and struck it with her Virtual Burdock, splitting it in two.

“Here, half for Little Spice!”

“Thanks! Wow, Hazuki-chan was amazing. I learned a lot… or maybe not at all.”

“Ehehe, I was nervous during the collab too. Still, it was a strange Dungeon. I wonder what was about to happen at the end there…”

Was it unconscious!?

A terrifying person.

But having her as an ally, there’s probably no one more reliable…!!

“Wow, Hazuki-chan is incredible… Just like Little Chara and Mr. Yata said.”

Oh, and Mr. Daikyo too!

And so, after that, we received lots of cute comments, and Spice’s channel’s subscribers safely increased.

It felt like a very fruitful collab…

And the Grimoires seemed to have learned who the truly terrifying opponents in this world are!

After the collab ended…

‘We survived~~!!’

‘I didn’t feel alive at all!’

‘The previous master… that mentally unstable woman, but I’m really glad our current master is the final opponent!! If we’d clashed with her, everything would have been destroyed and pulverized!!’

“Well, she’s an exception among exceptions, a living legend, you could say. But now she’s completely one of us. Things will be easier from here on out—”

‘Our master who has calculated everything…! A terrifying child…!!’

Somehow, even Flota was looking at me with awe.