Chapter 25: Recreating the Avatars
The call from Seika-san came right after Hayato got home from his security company job.
“Hayato, do you have some time today? There’s been some progress with the illustrator meeting.”
“Ah, of course. Want to meet up and talk? Or over the phone?”
“I’d prefer to meet, if possible. It’s important, and I have something I want to show you.”
At the promised time, the doorbell rang. Hayato opened the door and welcomed her in.
“Thanks for having me. You just got off work, right? How’s it going?”
“Yeah. I’m getting pretty used to it. More importantly, how did things go with the illustrator?”
They chatted as they walked down the hallway. Entering the living room, the two sat down on sofas facing each other. Seika-san began to speak with her usual composure.
“It’s going well. I was the main one handling the meeting, but I made sure to convey everyone’s requests.”
Hayato nodded, his expression full of gratitude at Seika-san’s words.
“The illustrator, Sawada-san, is also quite motivated. She got really excited when she heard the setting: ‘A Hero and his companions who transferred from another world to modern times.’ It seems she was particularly drawn to the concept of us recounting our memories of the other world as VTubers.”
Hayato looked impressed. If they spoke of their memories from the other world as fiction, it would surely be a fresh story for people in modern times. Though it was their actual experience, it would be received by the audience as a work of fiction.
“So, what happened with the designs?”
Seika-san took a tablet out of her bag and, while operating it, replied.
“Basically, it looks like we can go with the policy of recreating our appearances from the other world as they were. Look, I had them recreate the forms we remember. They’re clearly different from our current, reincarnated selves.”
“I see. It certainly brings back memories.”
Looking at the designs, Hayato vividly recalled his memories of the other world. The characters on the screen were the very companions he knew. As he looked, the scene of their final battle even surfaced in his mind, making his chest grow warm. Remembering his companions’ sacrifices, he almost felt like crying.
“However, for your design, Hayato… I asked for a few alterations.”
“Alterations?”
“If your appearance from the other world were recreated exactly, it might end up looking no different from how you are now. So, to avoid the risk of your identity being exposed, I had them make various changes so it wouldn’t be too faithful a reproduction.”
“I see, thank you for being so considerate.”
“It’s just an Avatar for online use, after all. This is the design proposal.”
The design she showed me was drawn to look cooler than my real self. Looking at this design, it didn’t quite feel like me. But, if they were going to draw me looking cool, I figured that was fine. With that thought, Hayato decided to accept it as his appearance from the other world.
That day, Hayato and Seika-san reviewed the design proposals together and discussed adjustments to the finer details.
On a weekend evening, Seika-san, Riri, and Josuke came over to Hayato’s apartment. The four of them were to check the completed designs.
“What about Tsuyoshi?”
“It seems he has an important business deal he absolutely can’t get away from. We’re supposed to check his design along with ours and send him the data later.”
Josuke answered Hayato’s question. Unfortunately, Tsuyoshi couldn’t make it due to work commitments.
The four of them sat down on the living room sofa. On the table was the tablet Seika-san had brought. Soft light streamed in from the window, which offered a view of the night cityscape, gently illuminating the faces of the gathered companions.
“Have you seen them already?”
Hayato answered Riri’s question.
“Yeah. Seika-san and I looked at them earlier.”
“I see. Well then, shall we take a look too?”
Nodding at Hayato’s reply, Josuke, who had heard him, picked up the tablet and began to operate it.
“Me too.”
From his side, Riri peered at the screen.
“I see. This is nostalgic, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is. That was us back then.”
Looking at the Avatars displayed on the screen, their expressions softened. Seeing those forms, they reminisced about their days in the other world. The meticulously drawn illustrations were of a quality sufficient to evoke their memories. The details of their weapons, armor, and accessories were reproduced just as they remembered, striking them with a sensation akin to looking at photographs from the past.
“These look great.”
“This should be fine. Tsuyoshi will surely agree too.”
Then, Riri and Josuke began to ponder various things.
“We’ll generate 3D models from these designs and then assign motion to them,” Riri began to explain from a technical standpoint. It seemed she was already constructing the program’s structure in her head. She spoke with a confident expression, as if she could already see the roadmap for bringing the characters on the screen to life.
“Initially, it’ll just be basic movements, but we plan to gradually add facial expressions and more detailed motions.”
Meanwhile, Josuke was considering it from a different angle. He took the tablet and analyzed each character in turn.
“From a marketing perspective, these designs have a lot of impact. They’ll likely draw the viewers’ interest. Especially with the current trend of isekai fantasy, I think they’ll easily gather attention.”
Afterward, they checked the details of each illustration: the specifics of the equipment, subtle nuances in expressions, the atmosphere of their stances. They all marveled at how accurately everything was reproduced according to their memories, noticing new things upon closer inspection. They were moved that the illustrator would put in so much detail.
“Seika-san, your way of explaining things must have been perfect.”
“Thank you. But it’s really Sawada-san’s talent. To be able to reproduce them to this extent just from my explanation…”
Seika-san smiled, looking a little embarrassed. Her hand touched the tablet screen as if caressing it. It was an expression of joy, as if she had been reunited with the forms of her lost companions from the past. Something precious that remained in her memories had been recreated in this way. That made her very happy.
“The next step is 3D modeling. Then we’ll run simulations of actual movements.”
“We also need to think about the content for our streams,” Hayato said. He gazed out the window, contemplating how they should tell their story.
“How should we talk about our adventures in the other world?”
“Maybe we could go chronologically, starting from our initial summoning, our encounters with companions, our adventures, and then the final decisive battle…”
Hayato nodded thoughtfully at Josuke’s suggestion. As they were having this conversation, Riri interjected with a smile.
“Actually, I have something in mind for that too.”
“What are you planning?”
“Making it into an RPG game… Whoops. Talking about this would take a while, so for now, why don’t we focus on the tasks related to our debut?”
“You’re right. But, a game, huh? That sounds interesting too. Tell me more about it sometime.”
“Of course!”
Riri’s eyes sparkled with delight. It seemed she already had a concrete idea in her head, but for now, there were more pressing matters to consider. Everyone agreed they should focus on those and began discussing specific preparations for their debut.