Chapter 400: – Next Steps |
Betty chuckled and said, "You should stop exaggerating your efforts as well, Titor. I am more than aware of the fact that Jenny is doing the majority of the work in HR."
"Kuh." Titor gasped and said, "I-I do HR work too! ...Sometimes!"
"If you believe so..."
Aurora didn't really understand what was going on because of the big words, but it sounded like the creepy voice that sounded too much like Papa was being made fun of.
Since that was the case, she decided to laugh.
Betty smiled at Aurora and then tapped Aurora's nose. "See? Even an infant understands."
Aurora giggled again and grabbed Betty's finger.
"Hey, Aurie doesn't count! She's not a normal baby! Plus she ignores me every time we meet!"
Betty fiddled with Aurora's bangs and said, "That is likely due to continuing to call her by such a terrible nickname. Am I right, Rory?"
Betty let out a gentle smile at that and then took a look around the room. Afterwards, she glanced off to the side and said, "It is already noon, and yet no one is around." She hummed and said, "I am aware that Meggie has school today and Mother is beginning her role as the principal... and Father is Father. Still." She looked up and said, "Did everyone truly leave babysitting to you of all people, Titor?"
"Oi! That makes it sound like I'm unreliable!"
"Well." Betty tilted her head and said, "...I suppose you have a fairly good track record of being reliable."
"Right?"
"But you are about twice as silly as Father ever was in his younger days."
"Kuh. W-Well... A-Anyway, I just made a teleporter, so if Aurie needs anything, I can be there in a flash!"
Betty blinked and said, "I thought you were one of Father's clones? Could you not do that already?"
"..."
Betty blinked again and let out a deep sigh. "...Please do not tell me you had forgotten."
"I didn't forget! It just..." Titor cleared his throat and said, "...It just slipped my mind."
Betty shook her head and looked down at Aurora. Smiling at her baby sister, Betty said, "I hope that you at least will become a well-adjusted individual, my beloved baby sister."
"Bah! Babu babu, Bebi!"
Aurora still didn't really know what was going on, but if Beti was happy, she was happy!
...She wished a bit that Papa was here though.
Papa always understood her, and he would be able to translate what she said too.
...She missed Papa already.
"Well." Betty adjusted her grip on Aurora to make her more comfortable and then said, "As everyone appears to be busy, I will take on babysitting duties today."
Titor let out a sigh of relief and said, "Oh thank god."
Betty started walking around the house, packing the essentials to take Aurora out on a play date.
Meanwhile, Aurora just watched the colors around her and giggled, happy to finally be moving around and seeing new things.
Betty chuckled at her baby sister's antics and said, "Well, let us get you ready for a day of exploring, shall we, Rory?
"Bah!"
The speaker crackled and Titor's voice echoed one more time. "Hey! Remember to tell your dad that I Was definitely watching Aurie before you picked her up!"
Betty nodded after swaddling Rory in a comfortable silk blanket. "Of course. Among one of your hundreds of monitors."
"HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"
Betty let out a deep sigh.
xxx
A small cafe in the middle of Roppongi, bustling with activity from the lunch rush. There, John and Jenny were meeting to organize upcoming events and work for both Project MirAIs and Myth Inc.
John casually sipped on a glass of sweet tea while looking around the area.
Since it was the middle of a weekday, there weren't many high school students around. There were quite a few university students, however. And also quite a few businessmen stopping in for a brief lunch in the middle of a busy day.
That much John expected. But what he didn't expect was the fact that most people around had merch of some kind or another.
That high school girl had a hairpin just like Hana's. That businessman had a cute acrylic charm of a chibi Alfi dangling from his suitcase. That guy there who looked around university age was carrying a bag with pins of all the girls from Prodigy...
John shifted his gaze back to Jenny and smiled. "Seems like the girls have more fans than I thought."
Jenny glanced around as well and then adjusted her glasses. "Well, it *has* been a life-changing event for everyone involved, fan and idol alike. It'd be strange if there *weren't* fans of them out in the wild."
John nodded and then focused on how people glanced at him but also pointedly looked away. Seeing that brought a smile on his face as he glanced back at Jenny. "True. But I have to say, it's nice seeing the positive energy around because of it."
John was undisputably famous now. But at the same time, it had somehow reached a point where people would give him polite nods and waves instead of trying to strike up a conversation or get a candid photo.
And this was all surprisingly without executing Operation Divine Intervention to try and maintain a private life.
It seemed like the power of having an Oshi and being grateful towards the one who let their Oshi reach their dreams had created a respectful and appreciative parasocial relationship between John and the various fans of Project MirAIs instead of the usual star-struck nature.
It was nice. Maybe he should show up and more events to pay back the fans' respect... something to consider.
Jenny stirred a glass of milk tea with her straw and then said, "Is there a reason why you wanted to have a lunch meeting here?" She looked around at the crowd of people and said, "Not that I mind, but it's a bit different from usual."
John leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. Grabbing his glass of sweet tea, he said, "I like having people around when we talk about important stuff. Less chance of being dragged into a ridiculous mess if there are multiple targets and potential AOE casualties."
Jenny blinked and said, "That's evil."
John gestured with his glass and said, "But *necessary*. Can't help it when I'm so tempting even Lady Fate keeps sending me her love."
"Yue is *definitely* going to be mad you said that."
John sipped on his tea and said, "Of course. Then again, my lovely wife is the only one who can save me from the clutches of these vile and conniving feminine cosmic forces, so all the better. The heavens know just how much trouble I cause when trying to resolve anything on my own."
Jenny blinked and then hummed. "Well, I suppose that's true..." She nodded and said, "My handsome and charismatic older brother needs his lovely wife to protect him from the evil witches." She smiled and said, "Isn't that right?"
John rolled his eyes and said, "Right. Like how my sexy and charming baby sister needs her older brother around to fend off the idiots who want to hit on her."
Jenny clicked her tongue. "Tch. You don't get flustered anymore."
"Even if you're dressed as a sexy secretary, you're still my younger sister." John sipped on his tea and said, "It took a bit to get used to, but I've been through a lot worse."
Seriously, some 'junior sisters' in the Three Realms didn't know personal boundaries at all...
John shook his head and said, "Anyway, should we get to business?"
Jenny shrugged and said, "Might as well." She reached up to stretch and said, "We've played around enough and there's quite a bit to do." After that, she bent over and pulled out a tablet before tapping on it with a stylus.
John took out his own tablet and opened up his usual note-taking app.
Jenny swiped her stylus along the tablet's surface, scrolling through some notes. "It looks like the auditions are going out now for Project YUUSHA, but there aren't really any applicants."
"Really?" John raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm surprised. I'd have thought there'd be a good chunk who would apply because of the chance to meet their oshis."
Jenny nodded and said, "You'd think so. But it doesn't seem like it. The few applicants we DO have are ordinary streamers who seem to be wanting to try something new. And background checks show they aren't fans of any of the girls."
"Huh." John uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, setting his glass on the table. "...I guess there haven't been many male VTubers even after tossing the MIRAIZ app into the wild." He rubbed his chin and said, "Maybe there's still a stigma around that?"
Jenny nodded. "Perhaps. And it could be due to idol culture as well." She scrolled through more of her notes and said, "Historically, idol fans have gone rabid over any sort of potential scandals with their oshis and members of the opposite sex."
"Right..."
John vaguely remembered that was a thing even back before he got sent to the Three Realms.
Wasn't there that infamous case about a stalker who went to his oshi's home and stabbed her in the chest and neck after she refused his gifts? And then there was also that You-
UTuber who was shot after her concert when she was signing autographs for some fans.
Considering this world John found himself definitely had 'drama amplification' as a rule of existence and that the criminal underworld had been running the idol scene, he didn't doubt that guys would be hesitant to sign up. Even so, for there to be none...
Jenny shrugged and said, "It could just be due to the fans of the girls knowing their boundaries."
"Oh right." John nodded and said, "That's a good point."
Considering that John and Jenny could have a business meeting like this in a public cafe with clear fans of Project MirAIs around without being bothered, it was clear that real fans knew where to draw the line.
It was a bit surprising that there weren't any bad actors, but John supposed he could thank Orca and Knight for that.
Apparently, having public superfans who were successful and relatively well-adjusted people had a positive effect on the fanbase.
Well, that and the old adage of the audience reflecting the streamer seemed to slowly becoming a law here.
Since all of the girls in Project MirAIs were good and knew where to draw the line as well...
These days at least. It had been a MESS around Valentines...
But anyway, since they were good people and set boundaries, their fans reflected that.
John grabbed a sandwich he had ordered earlier and took a bite. After chewing it, and chewing over his thoughts, he said, "Are those applicants any good?"
Jenny shook her head. "They're streamers with a relatively large following... but I'm not sure they align well with our vision."
"...Are they toxic gamers?"
"They're toxic gamers."
"Hah..." John rubbed his chin. "That'd be fun, but definitely not on brand. If we were just a regular entertainment group, that might be fine. But we have a reputation to uphold now... And while I can always... 'rehabilitate' people like I did with Chi-chan, I'd rather not always have to do that."
Jenny nodded and said, "Speaking of Chi-chan... Just what *did* you do to resolve that conflict between her and the other members of Prodigy?"
John waved his hand and said, "Oh, I just dropped them into a real death game with no starting equipment and forced them to get along with each other due to random events, encounters, and monsters. Kind of like a condensed version of what I went through in the Three Realms, you know?"
Jenny blinked and said, "...I feel like you're skipping over a lot there."
John shrugged. "What do you take me for, an author? I'm not about to write a bunch of drivel for something like that and waste our time. There's more important things to do and talk about."
"...Right." Jenny adjusted her glasses and looked at her tablet. "So we'll put Project YUUSHA on hold for now then?"
John nodded. "Mm, let's do that. I think I'll have to do some headhunting myself for the first gen."
First impressions were important, after all. And they had to show that Project YUUSHA could stand on its own and weren't just piggybacking off Project MirAIs.
Besides, John was sure that there were a few guys who could change the world with a bit of a push out there.
Like, Kai was a thing.
If John had caught him when he was younger, Kai probably would have been able to have a happy family with Sakura right now and help raise Rin instead of... whatever the weird relationship they all had right now.
Speaking of which, that drink with the guys was long overdue.
Needed to remember to do that sometime soon.
Jenny nodded. "So that's that... and Project MirAIs EN?"
John shook his head. "It's stalled right now. Bai, Qing, and their fiancées are setting things up over in America, but apparently there's some crazy shenanigans happening right now near their office space. Something about mass hallucinations of an eldritch being, a dino shark, a phoenix, and the grim reaper."
Jenny blinked. "That sounds insane."
John nodded. "That's America. I think the last election drove some people off the deep end and caused mass hallucinations."
John personally went to check, after all. And as far as he could tell, there definitely wasn't anything abnormal or extradimensional in America.
Quite a few hidden criminal organizations and bioweapon shenanigans, but those were standard fare.
At least it wasn't anything like South Korea or China that seemed to have weird interdimensional ripples... or Japan with Titor's overarching imagination/VR/AR/Reality interference grid...
...Okay, John was starting to understand why he got flat-out denied permission back to his real home world by an omnipotent and omnipresent being...
