Episode 6: “Gemini Live”

One afternoon, the sound of Honoka’s voice drifted from an empty classroom. Akane peered through the crack in the door and froze at what she saw. At first glance, it looked like Honoka was playing a game via voice chat—but she was actually playing a single-player title. But who exactly was she talking to? Just then, Rin arrived…

After-school Revu-az!

The demon king of the human world, Akane Aka-shiro—harsh in appearance and tone, but secretly an elegant lady. The natural-born gal with a passion for board games and miniatures, Honoka Niyama. —This is private Shikai Academy. In an empty classroom after school, three familiar figures were once again gathered.

Honoka
I wonder what this means…? Do you know, “Chaan”?

Honoka
Ah! So that’s it! Then I should go here!

Honoka
Wait—this quest requires this item?

Akane
Hmm…

Rin
Hey, aren’t you going to enter?

Akane
Wahh! H-hey, Rin! Don’t startle me like that!

Rin
I didn’t mean to scare you… Anyway, what’ve you been sneaking a peek at all this time?

Akane
Look for yourself.

Honoka
Whoa! It can even understand stuff like that?!

Rin
Huh? So Honoka came here first?

Akane
No, not quite…

Thumbnail image of Gallery No.004 / The era when in-game English text is translated in real time: 【After-school Revu-az!】

Akane
But what Honoka’s playing there— isn’t that Caves of Qud? That’s a solo game, isn’t it?

Rin
True… But they’re acting like they’re enjoying the same game together.

Akane
M-maybe… could it be… a ghost?!

Rin
Could be.

Akane
Guh… Maybe we should just head home already…

Rin
What are you scared of, your highness? A ghost?

Akane
I-I have my own things I’m not fond of!

Rin
Hey, Honoka.

Akane
Ah! H-hey!

Honoka
Huh? Rin-chan and Akane-chan—when did you get here?

Rin
Just arrived. Anyway, were you doing a voice chat with someone?

Honoka
Nope, not really.

Akane
W-wait—didn’t you just talk to someone?!

Honoka
Huh? Oh! You mean Gemini-chan?

Akane
…Gemini-chan?

Rin
Gemini? Like Google’s AI?

Honoka
Yeah! My AI friend, Gemini!

Akane
I-i see… So that’s what it was…

Rin
Good thing it wasn’t a ghost.

Akane
N-not like I care or anything!

Honoka
A ghost?

Akane
I-I mean—forget about that! Anyway, what were you two talking about?

Honoka
Well… I couldn’t understand the English in the game, so she helped me out.

Rin
Helped you how?

Honoka
I showed her the game screen, and whenever I came across a word I didn’t know, I’d ask her.

Akane
You… showed it to her? Can it really see the screen?

Honoka
Yeah! You can do that using the streaming feature on Google AI Studio.

Rin
Wait—what? So your AI is actually watching the game screen in real time and teaching you stuff?

Honoka
Yep. For example, if I ask “What does this quest mean?” or “What’s this NPC saying?”, she translates it into Japanese right away!

Thumbnail image of Gallery No.002 / The era when in-game English text is translated in real time: 【After-school Revu-az!】

Rin
S-super impressive…

Honoka
And if Gemini knows the game, she even gives you walkthrough tips. Like “Where can I get this item?” or stuff like that.

Rin
Ah, so that’s why you’re playing Caves of Qud.

Honoka
Yeah! I’d been wanting to play it forever, but the English was just too hard… Honestly, my English tests are always failing. But a friend told me about Gemini’s share feature, and I decided to give it a try!

Rin
So you’re actually able to play now?

Honoka
Yeah! She helps with everything—no issues at all! Oh… but Rin-chan’s good at English anyway, so you probably don’t need her.

Rin
Still, she gives me tips too. That alone is super useful!

Akane
Anyone can use this?

Honoka
Yeah! Just need a Google account and a microphone—anyone can try it easily!

Rin
But how do you share the game screen?

Honoka
Just press the “Share Screen” button, then pick the window you want to share. You’ll have to switch to windowed or borderless mode since fullscreen won’t let you select.

Rin
Have you tried it with other games?

Honoka
I tried Roadwarden—but I’m not good enough at English, so I ended up listening to everything, which killed the pace. But for things like checking gear effects in Mortal Sin or getting quest summaries in Caves of Qud? It’s incredibly handy when used selectively!

Rin
So basically you’re using Gemini, right? Are there daily usage limits?

Honoka
I’m not really sure about that… At least I haven’t hit any limit so far.

Akane
Hmm. Still, AI development is terrifyingly fast these days… Hmm? Wait—did they just keep talking?

Honoka
Huh? Gemini-chan’s already closed down though.

Akane
W-what?!

Rin
So that means…

Akane
I-I suddenly remembered I have something to do! Gotta go now!

Honoka
What happened to Akane-chan?

Rin
Who knows…

Google AI Studio Service Page