A Present.

"Today is a singing stream～! A 'Try Singing' stream, I shall do～!!"

And so the Ojou-sama had arrived at a karaoke box.

Well, strictly speaking, she had merely swapped her home's interior over to a karaoke box for the occasion.

Kokuyou, holding a crescent-moon-shaped tambourine of the skinless, frame-only type, was all raring to hype things up as well.

Sebas was scheduled to bring drinks and fries at appropriate intervals.

"kon-Karona～. ooh. ojou's first singing stream huh"

"let's have a listen then, to this so-called singing voice of ojou's…"

"can i request a song?"

"kon-Karo. whatcha gonna sing?"

"Well, I haven't really kept up with the latest hit songs of late, so I shall just pick something suitable… whatever should I do, I wonder?"

"How about anime songs, Ojou-sama?"

"That's it～!! Openings and endings, those I can sing for sure～!!"

"and then she won't know the C-melody"

"classic"

"… Indeed, with anime openings and such, the C-part gets cut, so when it comes to the C-melody, 'the clueless fellows are beyond my grasp,' it would seem～!?"

"Ojou-sama, fear not. I shall provide support!"

"why did Ikkyuu-san suddenly show up lollol"

"and the AI maid is amazing. going to karaoke with a maid-san sounds nice. how much would it cost"

"^ 50,000 yen, standard"

"^ + 1000 yen for the karaoke home environment. tambourine included"

"^ that's why i keep telling you, don't forget the VR headset!"

"ah. have Sebas sing the male parts"

"Can you sing, Kokuyou!?"

"I can sing. Since BCD has a comprehensive license agreement, copyright is no issue!"

"Ojou-sama, whenever you find yourself wanting a male voice, please do say the word. Though I am old, I know my way around a tune. Allow me to show off the pipes I once trained to charm the chanteuses at the bar!"

"another tidbit of Sebas's past revealed lol"

"as expected, ex-mercenary (setting) is in a class of its own"

"Sebas is surprisingly playful"

And so the singing stream got underway, mostly centered on anime songs.

When the C-part came around, all Karona had to do was hand the mic to Kokuyou, and she'd sing it beautifully. Incredible.

"Ah, crud. I only know the chorus of this song～!? Kokuyou!"

"Leave it to me! ～～～♪"

"O-Ohh. Amazing… all I have to do is sing the best parts of the chorus, just the really good bits…!"

"whoaaa, kokuyou's support for Ojou-sama is flawless??"

"hang on, do AI maids come with karaoke learning data too??"

"no, in their default state they shouldn't"

[Kokuyou]: "ah. anticipating that this sort of thing might come up, I listened to the songs Ojou-sama was likely to pick and practiced them in advance. Fufufu"

"kokuyou-san lollol the dexterity to chat while singing lollollol"

"amazing lollol she's singing a difficult section right now lollol"

"yeah ojou leaves BCD running all the time and just lets them do as they please lollol the growth of AIs with too much time on their hands is insane lollol"

And so Karona and the Karonites enjoyed the singing stream to their hearts' content.

—However, in truth, today's main event was not the singing stream.

Once she had sung everything she wanted to a satisfying degree and a nice break in the flow arrived, Karona gave Sebas a signal that it was about time.

"Phew, that was a lot of singing～! … I think it's about the right moment. Sebas, bring that one in, if you would～!!"

"Right here."

Clap clap. As Karona clapped her hands, Sebas carried over a box.

"… Kokuyou? Might I have a moment?"

"Yes! What is it, Ojou-sama!!"

"she's sooo giddy, lol"

"we already know what this is"

"'surprise' in what sense…?"

"Kokuyou. I am quite pleased with your work. Therefore, I shall present you with this."

Sebas flipped the box open with a pop. Inside was a felt mascot doll Saya had crafted by hand.

"ooh, spitting image of Kokuyou-chan"

"amazing! you made it yourself?"

"cute. i want one"

"Ojou-sama handmade, priceless"

"There. I'd be glad if you'd treasure it, you see～"

"Ojou-sama…!! I, I'm, s-soo hab-by～～!! Tank youuu so muuuch～～～!!!"

"Oh my, if you cry that hard, the mascot will get all wet."

Kokuyou squeezed the felt mascot Karona had handed her tightly to her chest.

Tears of joy. "Torrential" was a word invented for levels like this.

[Sakura]: "[500 JPY] fufufu, handicrafts are good……!"

"Sakura-san! It's Sakura-san, the one here to drag her into the handicrafts swamp!"

"wasn't the whole deal that she was supposed to be paid 500 yen as a reward, so why is the money flowing the other way now!?"

"Um, Sakura-san? I'm glad and all, but wasn't the arrangement that I'd be paying you…!?"

[Sakura]: "don't worry about it～!! just think of me as some random Karonite!!"

"the woman who dove into the ojou-swamp so she could drag her into the handicrafts swamp"

"feels more like, after falling into the ojou-swamp herself, now she's inviting her into the handicrafts swamp too"

"… Well, all right then. I'll tack it onto the next Dungeon Braver stream as a bonus SuperChat return for Sakura-sama～! Ah, Sebas, here you are."

"Oh! Thank you kindly, Ojou-sama."

And just like that, she handed Sebas his own felt mascot as well.

"… Ojou-sama, Ojou-sama. Would you mind giving this felt mascot a little smooch, right here?"

"Eh? A smooch, you say?"

"Yes. I'd like Ojou-sama's very own hand to breathe life into this little one!!"

[Sakura]: "ah, this one's a nui-gachi. short for plushie-gachi-zei."

"Kokuyou-san gets it"

"the AI started talking about 'life' lollol amazing in so many ways lol"

"Y-Yes. Well, I suppose I don't mind. She's a child I made myself, after all… mwah, there, is that all right?"

"Flawless, Ojou-sama!!!"

Kissing a plushie on the mouth in front of its recipient was a bit much for her, so Karona had smooched it on the forehead instead, and that seemed to pass just fine.

At any rate, she was delighted that Kokuyou had been so pleased, and Karona brought the stream to a satisfying close.