Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency - Chapter 369: – A Prototype Slice of Life – IV

Friday afternoon. A seemingly routine day.

But not for John.

He let out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his blonde hair. “And this is why you’re supposed to have proper training… Hah…”

John was in his office at Myth Inc headquarters. He had been helping Yue and Meggie move into their new home and then planned to take Xuan and Wu out to have some fun since he had been neglecting his adopted daughters recently…

Which reminded him that time on Earth was really short. The days when he could stretch tasks out across millenia really were gone now.

But anyway, he had been moving in and decided to scroll through social media when he saw Rin’s sneaky guerilla Tweeter space.

A chime echoed from the elevator. Shortly after, Kai walked out. Glancing at John, he nodded and said, “I guess this is about dealing with the fallout?”

“That’s right.” John sighed again and then reached into his Heavenly Realm, pulling out one of the fresh brewed cups of coffee from Yue that he had saved. “I have an idea of how to deal with the situation, but I wanted a second opinion before I did it.”

Kai stared at the cup of coffee.

John raised an eyebrow and said, “What? Get your wife to make your own coffee, Kai.”

“That’s not why-” Kai sighed and shook his head. “Never mind.” He pulled a chair over to sit across from John and said, “Let’s hear it.”

John nodded and said, “*Technically*, Rin broke her contract. It would have been fine if the Tweeter space was on her personal account, but she did it on Hana’s account. Not only that, but she disclosed the identity of her fellow gen mates. Of course, there’s no proof other than hearsay, but it’s still an issue.”

Kai nodded. “That’s a serious issue. Talents have been terminated for less.”

“Right.” John took a sip from his coffee and said, “Project MirAIs was created so that the girls could have an opportunity to pursue their dreams while still living a normal life due to that separation of privacy. And that becomes impossible when their identities are revealed.”

Kai nodded. “I agree. And condoning Rin’s actions allows a precedent for risky activities like that.”

“Right.” John set his coffee cup down and then leaned back in his chair. “And there’s the dilemma.”

John stared at the ceiling, running through the implications.

On one hand, this entire thing was made for Rin’s sake. So that she wouldn’t have to resort to desperate means, John created this opportunity to grant her wish and give back a normal life to her.

Well, relatively normal. It was pretty much impossible for anyone involved with John to live a normal life again afterwards.

But anyway, Rin was both the foundation and pioneer of Project MirAIs. Not only that, but since Project MirAIs was meant as a means for the girls to pursue their dreams and live free, it’d be bad to punish her too harshly, since that’d be making a hypocrite about himself and the entire project.

On the other hand, there were other people involved now who relied on Project MirAIs.

There were the other girls, obviously. Alphy, Asako, Yuri, Suzume, Shu, and Chihiro would lose a lot if a scandal broke out.

But there were also the viewers.

John knew first-hand just how much of a help it was to have a livestream and relatable talent to watch after a trying day.

If it had been the him from back then, John probably wouldn’t have pulled off such a crazy stunt as booking a one-way flight to China if he had something like Project MirAIs to watch.

In fact, he probably would have turned into a functioning member of society, scary as that thought might be.

“Hm…” John leaned forward again and then rapped his hand against the table. “The main problem here is that the identity of some talents could be revealed, right, Kai?”

“That’s right.” Kai reached up to rub his chin and said, “It’s a tricky situation. In all honesty, it wasn’t really anything bad.” He let out a wry smile and said, “There could be worse scandals.”

“Mm.” John nodded. “There could.”

Kai leaned forward and said, “I understand the problem though. This wouldn’t be a problem if Project MirAIs was a traditional idol group but-”

“Wait.” John’s eyes sparkled and he said, “That’s it! We can just have the Prototype girls go public!”

Kai blinked and said, “…You’re going to have the girls reveal themselves? John, that’s not-”

“No.” John shook his head and said, “We can have the *Prototype* girls go public. As in, the idols themselves.”

“…I’m not following.”

“Eh?” John tilted his head and said, “How are you not following?”

Kai furrowed his brow and said, “The Prototype girls and the Prodigy girls are different from the talents who play them, right? How can you have the girls go public other than revealing who the talents are?”

John blinked and then said, “Oh yeah. We haven’t shown you the IDOL bodies yet, have we?”

“The what now?”

John snapped his fingers, causing his office to blur before turning into what looked like a secret industrial facility. “Come on. Since you’re a manager now, it’s probably better for you to get used to this tech so that you can plan future events for the girls.”

Kai took a look around the area with a blank expression on his face before turning back to look at John. “…Just for the record, you have no plans of world conquest or eliminating humanity, do you?”

John chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. Being the overlord of a world is the last thing I want to do.”

“…You didn’t answer the second part.”

John smiled and then started walking deeper into the facility.

Kai let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Following after John, he muttered, “Count your blessings, Kai. Listen to what your wife told you and count your blessings…”

xxx

A popular pop-up cafe in Akihabara themed after a certain gacha game involving a train flying through space and world calamities.

There, Rin meekly sipped on a glittery orange drink while avoiding the gazes of the three women sitting across from her.

To be fair, she didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.

Rin didn’t advertise the Tweeter space, and she wasn’t doing anything too crazy. All she wanted to do was show how Aneue and Onee-chan were in their normal lives.

Rin even made super extra sure that all the filters and identity hiding settings that Titor programmed into her MIRAIZ phone were working properly before going live.

…But she didn’t expect how many of their fans were in the crowd. Or how talented their fans were at figuring out where they were from just a few clues.

Asako let out a deep sigh and looked away from Rin. She picked up a blueberry slushie special she ordered on the way in and took a sip. After that, she turned to Betty and said, “Thanks for covering for us, Betty.”

Betty sipped on her own drink, a super sweet caramel fudge frappe with gold flakes sprinkled throughout. After that, she said, “No need to thank me. I suppose I was partly at fault.” She glanced to her left at Alphy and said, “I did not expect Big Sister to react that much to me calling her as such.”

Alphy’s face turned a bright red and she sipped on her cherry slushy. “I-I was surprised… And Betty was being cute…” She set her cup down and then poked her index fingers together. “Sorry…”

Asako choked on her drink and quickly set it aside, coughing to clear her throat.

“Asa-chan!” Alphy got up and walked over, placing her hands on Asako’s back. “Here! Let me help!”

Asako coughed and waved her hand. “I’m, *cough*. I’m fine, Alphy. Just- Hnnn~!?”

“E-Eh?” Alphy held up her hands, looking confused. “D-Did I do something wrong?”

Asako’s face turned red. “N-No. Just… U-Uh…” She coughed and then pointedly started sipping her drink again.

Rin watched all of that unfold with a blank expression.

It was a priceless scene. Something that should be shared with the world.

…But of course she couldn’t do that now that Mister John had stopped her Tweeter space and blocked her account from starting any new ones.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t the *smartest* idea streaming when they were out together, even if it was just audio.

But it would have totally been fine! It almost worked, too!

Betty glanced at Rin and said, “That is not the expression of a repentent person, Rin.”

Rin puffed her cheeks and said, “It was a great idea!”

Asako finally calmed down enough to give Rin a serious expression. Staring at her sister, Asako frowned and said, “I think you might be letting the fame get to you, Sis.” She crossed her arms and said, “I let a lot of things slide, but you crossed a line today, you know? I wouldn’t be surprised if John-”

*BZZZT*

A faint vibration echoed from Rin’s purse.

Rin froze and then glanced at her phone.

Asako waved her hand and said, “Go on. I bet that’s him.”

Rin hesitated.

Alphy put on a reassuring smile and said, “Relax. I’m sure Papa won’t scold you too hard.”

Betty snorted and said, “As if Father will scold her at all. You know how tolerant he is when it comes to things like this.”

“Ah! That’s true.” Alphy nodded and said, “See, Rin? It’ll be fine!”

Rin gulped and then pulled out her phone.

Like Asako had guessed, it was from Mister John.

For a brief moment, Rin felt a surge of panic and guilt, wondering if Asako was right. Maybe the fame *was* getting to Rin’s head…

But whatever the case, she had to face the music.

So, tensing up, Rin opened the text message.

As for what the text message said…

—

[Mister John]

I’m banning you from Tweeter spaces and posting for a bit while we run damage control.

I’m also not mad, but I’m a bit disappointed. Remember, I’m your manager. If you want to do something, run it by me first so we can make it happen.

On a sidenote, since you’re with them, introduce Alphy and Asako to what an IDOL body is since you three are going to have to do a publicity stunt soon to fix this mess.

Now, sit tight and let your kouhai have the spotlight for once, Rin. There will be plenty of time for you to shine later.

—

Rin blinked and slowly reread the message.

Asako shook her head and said, “I knew it. You’re in a boatload of trouble now, huh, Sis?”

Rin read the message again and then hummed and said, “It’s complicated. But for now… Since Betty nee-chan worked hard to distract everyone and let us relax, let’s have some fun!”

Asako sighed.

Betty sighed as well and muttered, “Father’s bad habit of spoiling cute girls has returned, I see…”

As for Alphy…

“Oh! It’s all gold!”

…She was busy pulling gacha pulls since they were in the cafe.