——Just work in peace. I'll watch the chat for you. If I see something interesting, I'll call you over to reply!
Eclipse's words surfaced on the smooth countertop by Kagura's hands, and Kagura—who'd been worrying about how she was supposed to read chat while cooking once the stream started—immediately let out a breath.
She adjusted the phone camera to an angle that could capture her working, put on her earbuds so she could hear and respond to Wudi-san at any time, and only then reminded Wudi-san that she could start.
"Okay, I'm ready on my end, Wudi-san."
With Kagura's confirmation, Wudi switched the next scene into the livestream room. After a five-second countdown, Kagura—working in the kitchen—appeared on screen:
"Hoo~ hoo~ can you hear me? Good morning, everyone in China~"
This time, since she'd already mentioned to Wudi-san that she'd learned Chinese with Ardan, Kagura just greeted the viewers in Chinese directly.
[D-head Guy]:Ah, I finally made it! Setting up the VPN took forever! I almost missed Kagura-sensei's stream!
[Curren]:Kagura-sensei is so young—how are you that fluent in a foreign language?!
[Osman Roma Sultan]:I'm shocked! That standard Mandarin is so clean!
[Tsunade]:ショック!妹の中国語はそんなに上手ですね!?
A huge wave of chat swept across the top of the screen. Eclipse-san quickly filtered out the useful and notable ones and displayed them on the countertop in front of Kagura. Kagura was honestly impressed—she'd just seen the chat flood so hard it blocked the whole screen, and more than half of it was either "greedy Char" or viewers having an episode. For Eclipse-san to pick out the few normal ones that fast took real skill.
"I'm interested in Chinese food, so when I was looking up recipes I learned a bit on my own. And my roommate used to live in China for a long time too, so I picked up some everyday phrases. But when it comes to reading chat… I might not be able to keep up, so please understand if my replies are slow."
As she chopped—duk duk duk—Kagura answered the comments Eclipse-san was showing her. In moments like this, Eclipse-san really was insanely convenient.
Why are there Japanese comments popping up in here? I didn't go to the wrong place, did I?
When she saw that Japanese line drift by, Kagura briefly thought it might be Akikawa Yayoi sneaking in somewhere, but then she figured someone that old probably wouldn't come watch a livestream like this—and the ID was Chinese anyway. She decided the viewer had translated it on purpose to accommodate her.
[Ponytail.DrinkBro]:sniff sniff~! Kagura-sensei, can you show us picking yourself up with your tail?!
After finishing the spices and fish prep, Kagura saw Eclipse-san toss another comment in front of her. A few black lines dropped over her head.
So this counted as a "good question worth answering," huh?
"Some of my classmates have really strong tails—they can even lift little kids. But mine isn't that strong."
As she spoke, Kagura flicked her tail while chopping, hooked the vegetable basket by her feet, lifted it up toward the camera to show it off, then set it back down.
"Like this—this is basically my limit~"
Doing a quick little "circus act" didn't slow down her cooking at all. In that short moment, she'd already finished handling the ingredients and set the soaked rice to boil.
[Char]:Kagura-sensei's cooking is so skilled, like a mom! I want to do greedy things!
[Tsunade]:Very good cooking skills, love from the vast East
Pfft—yeah, I knew it. Definitely a domestic netizen. That MTL meme is way too classic.
Kagura had just thought this viewer might be some Japanese netizen—now it was obvious they were from China.
Back and forth like that, Kagura—who'd been a little nervous—gradually got used to Q&A with this pack of idiot-funny viewers. Because honestly, no matter what world you were in, netizens were the same: some were going feral, some asked bizarre questions, some were actually here to learn cooking seriously, and there was even a "clip guy" Eclipse-san had just banned.
That familiar vibe made Kagura feel like she'd come home. Her state steadied out. She cooked breakfast while occasionally glancing at the comments Eclipse-san handed over and replying.
"Morning~ Kagura-san~"
It was about ten minutes into Kagura's stream when the first familiar face showed up at the student kitchen entrance—early-rising Mejiro Ardan.
"Morning~ Ardan-ojousama. Up so early today?"
"Yeah, I went to bed earlier last night, so I got up a bit earlier. By the way… what are you doing? Just now it sounded like you were speaking Chinese to someone in here?"
Seeing all the equipment inside the kitchen, Ardan curiously leaned in from the doorway.
"I'm livestreaming on a Chinese video site. Ardan-ojousama, you're on TV now~"
"Eh?"
With that reminder, Ardan jolted like she'd been shocked, and immediately pulled back out of the doorway.
"Haha~ Ardan-ojousama, you don't have to be that nervous. Everyone's very friendly. Here—today's breakfast is Fresh Fish Slice Congee. Please enjoy~"
Laughing as she soothed the startled Ardan, Kagura ladled out a portion of congee and passed it through the window. Ardan—who clearly didn't feel comfortable around the camera—grabbed her breakfast and fled on the spot.
[I Want to Become Kagura-sensei's Ingredients]:Was that someone who just popped up Kagura-sensei's classmate? She got scared off, so cute www
[Ponytail.DrinkBro]:Ah! A new tail! I'm healed!
[Curren]:I think I've seen that classmate in Kagura-sensei's posts before. That person's your friend, right?
"Yeah. That was my roommate—the one who teaches me Chinese. She's a bit shy, not really used to the camera."
Huh? Speaking of… this 'Curren'… don't tell me that's Curren Chan?
After replying, Kagura finally paid attention to the ID—because this viewer's focus on her felt a little too intense. It did match the latter half of Curren Chan's account handle… but Kagura still couldn't be sure. Too many people used that name, and she'd never heard that Curren Chan could speak Chinese.
[Urban Ocean]:By the way, I saw your race stream earlier—so fast! Have you thought about when you'll enter a graded race?
[Tsunade]:Agreed, very fast. Your results must be really good!
"A graded race? If I'm going to… I'm still thinking about it."
Kagura actually had already decided—she'd debut and step onto the track in July. She just didn't want to announce her schedule that soon, so she didn't answer "Urban Ocean" too directly.
A bit later, Eclipse-san notified Kagura that she'd received a private message. With her hands too busy to spare, Kagura had Eclipse-san open it and check. It was a DM from that same viewer, Urban Ocean.
[Urban Ocean]:If you're interested in racing outside Japan, or if you want to come to China or travel to Europe, feel free to contact me, Kagura-sensei.
Below it, they'd left what looked like an email address—probably their contact information.
To be honest, getting a message like that out of nowhere left Kagura feeling a little dazed. This viewer's background didn't seem simple. Being a tour guide wasn't hard, sure—but why recommend yourself to a stranger like her? And they'd even brought up racing. If they weren't a scammer or blowing smoke, then their identity probably wasn't ordinary.
Eclipse-san, what do you think this person's deal is?
——I don't know. Online info is hard to verify. But if you ever really plan to go out, there's no harm in me probing a bit and chatting with them over the next few days.
After a brief discussion with Eclipse, Kagura put her attention back on cooking and replying to the livestream audience.
…Okay. Then I'll leave it to you, Eclipse-san.