Chapter 483: Project MirAIs Support Staff Get Together |
Tuesday afternoon. A fancy sushi restaurant in Roppongi Hills that the young man known as 'Alfis_HotCocoa' had reserved for a get together to go over future plans and meet up with LoreOwl.
Alfis_HotCocoa... or 'Hottie' as everyone in the group called him, had arrived early to confirm the reservation and to get some work done. Because of that, he was already there with a tablet, checking in on his tasks.
Spoiler
As for what said tasks were...
'Alfi-sama is scheduled for a lot of conventions. She has some duo concerts with Lady Aoko too...'
Despite Prototype being a proper idol generation, at least if they went by the standard metrics and protocol, due to the fact that Alfi-sama and Lady Aoko were VERY much a thing, it gave off more married couple and little sister vibes. Because of that, recently, there actually hadn't been many requests for all three to get together.
Of course, that worked in Hana's favor since she was definitely still in school. It wouldn't work for her to fly all over the world just to show up at this or that convention.
'...Lady Aoko has some stamina though to keep up with Alfi-sama...'
Although there wasn't much going on this week, starting next week, Alfi-sama and Lady Aoko would be flying to Germany for Doko-Mii, the second biggest anime convention in Europe. Then they'd be going to Paris for Nippon Expo the month after, the ACTUAL biggest anime convention in Europe.
As head of Alfi-sama's logistics team, Hottie would have to tag along, so the language barrier would have been difficult.
'Knight is running security, so that should be fine...'
Alfis_Knight was going to be cosplaying a proper Dark Sols character, complete with steel plate armor and 3D printed weaponry. Paired with his build, it should keep people from approaching too much.
'Couch has already scheduled all the drip marketing and guest appearance announcements and prints... She also got chekis and the outfits ready for the IDOL bodies for the meet and greets...'
Alfis_Couch, that sly woman... Well, she was good with marketing and money management at least. She'd get the contracts ironed out properly while managing the actual merchandise for sale.
That just left him to coordinate everything.
Which meant working mostly with Lady Aoko's team.
"Hm..." Hottie set his tablet down and looked up. "They're late."
The meeting was set for 12 PM sharp.
...Of course, Hottie set in a buffer of an hour for specifically this reason.
But it was getting close to 1 PM and no one else had arrived.
Just as Hottie was planning to send a message in the server, a beautiful woman with light brown hair and a form-fitting red dress walked in. FailureFox... aka, Foxy.
Spoiler
"Wooooow." Foxy looked around the place with a genuine smile. "Hottie, you really went all out didn't you- HOLY SHIT YOU'RE SO HOT RIGHT NOW. WHY ARE YOU WEARING A TUX?!"
Hottie gave Foxy a blank stare and slowly said, "I dress like this all the time. I moonlight as a host."
"YOU DO?! No, wait. That makes sense." Foxy slid into the chair across from him and said, "You've got the looks, the hair, the vibes, the fashion sense, AND the muscles... How much are you making?!"
Hottie gave Foxy a once over and said, "Likely more than you. No offense, but considering your outfit..."
Foxy blushed and said, "Rude! I spent 10000 yen on this!"
"...And my suit is Italian, fresh from Milan."
"...Wow. Way to flex on a girl..." Foxy looked around and said, "So it's just you here right now?"
"That's right. Drink?"
Foxy's eyes sparkled. "YES! I want wine- no, champagne..."
"...This is a sushi restaurant."
"Grk. I-I knew that!"
The door opened and someone else walked in. A young man with messy black hair, dark circles under his eyes, rectangular glasses, and a 5-inch binder filled with color-coordinated tabs.
Spoiler
Hottie didn't know him. But considering the way he looked...
"LoreOwl?"
"A-Ah! Yes! That's me!" The young man, LoreOwl, quickly walked over and set his binder down. "You must be... Um. GoldenOrca?"
Foxy laughed. "Orca? Him? No WAY. That's Hottie, LoreOwl."
"H-H-Hottie?! W-Well, he IS very handsome. But that's a bit much for coworkers, isn't it?!"
Hottie shook his head and said, "It's from my handle. I'm Alfis_HotCocoa. Nice to meet you, LoreOwl." He held out his hand to LoreOwl.
"OH! That makes more sense." LoreOwl shook Hottie's hand and looked at Foxy. "Then you must be... FailureFox?"
"That's me! You can just call me Foxy though!"
"Thank you, but I'll pass. It reminds me too much of the Foxie from Those Nights at Freddy's..."
Foxy blinked. Then she nodded. "Oh, right. You're a loremaster, so you WOULD know about that..."
LoreOwl adjusted his glasses and puffed out his chest. "Th-That's right! I even solved the box before they announced what it was! And the story plots! A-And then-"
Before LoreOwl could continue, the door opened again and two more people walked in.
The first was a fashionable young man with sun-kissed skin and curled brown hair. Wearing gold rings, chains, and a snake-skin jacket over a white dress shirt and slacks, he practically oozed money.
Spoiler
The second was an ordinary young man in an Aoko's Seiryuu-kai official merch sweater, with a blue dragon printed on the front and the character for 'Dragon' on the back. His hair was messy and he definitely didn't look like he ate well. But he gave off the reliable in a pinch vibe... also generic isekai MC protagonist vibes.
Spoiler
GoldenOrca and StraightGarbage. Also known as Orca and Gomi-kun.
Foxy waved and said, "Orca, Gomi-kun! You're here!"
Orca walked over and sat down beside Foxy. "You look good, Foxy. Just back from a shoot?"
"Nope! But I'll probably go afterwards!" Foxy grinned and stood up, twirling her dress. "It's nice, right?"
"Mm, it fits you well. But you need better material... Like Hottie's suit there."
Hottie nodded. "You think so too, right? Should we get her something proper?"
Orca hummed. "We should. I'd suggest some tailors, but Foxy isn't from that life, so it wouldn't suit her."
Hottie gave Foxy another once over and nodded. "Mm, you're right. Maybe something mid-tier, like Doen or Alice + Olivia?"
"Sounds good. Red suits her, it seems, but it's not good for a day meeting like this... Chardonnay?"
"I was thinking a soft verdant green to match her light brown hair."
Foxy huffed. "Could you NOT talk about me like I'm some barbie that you two rich guys dress up?"
Gomi-kun poured himself a glass of water from a nearby pitcher and said, "Foxy. They're offering to pay for your whole wardrobe. I think you should just be quiet."
"That's...! Wait. You're ABSOLUTELY right. Shutting up now."
LoreOwl looked between everyone and nervously adjusted his glasses. After that, he looked at Gomi-kun and said, "I-Is it always like this?"
Hottie paused in the middle of jotting down some notes and said, "It's not usually this chaotic. But it IS convention season."
Orca laughed and said, "It's always convention season somewhere in the world."
Hottie sighed. "Sadly, true..."
At that time, the door opened again and two more people walked in.
The first person to walk in was a body-builder wearing a sleeveless shirt with Alfi's face printed on it and the words 'Alfi-sama for life' printed on the back in English. After brushing his lightly tousled black hair and wiping off some sweat from having clearly sprinted there from across town, he chuckled and said, "I have arrived, one minute before the designated time!"
Spoiler
The second person was a woman who looked like a femme fatale from a spy movie come to life. Sleek curves, but lithe muscle. A black leather dress that hugged each of her curves as well as slits on the side that skirted dangerously with showing it all. Bare shoulders, but black gloves that went up to the middle of her arms. High heels that clicked with every step, but a perfectly balanced stride regardless... "My. So I WAS right. Like always, Hottie gave us a time an hour early from the actual meeting time."
Spoiler
Alfis_Knight and Alfis_Couch. AKA, Knight and Sofa.
Because calling a woman 'Couch' in public got you strange looks.
At least Sofa sounded close enough to 'Sofia' to get a pass.
Mentally though, Hottie still definitely called her Couch.
'Need to break that habit...'
Hottie was very self-aware of how he looked, after all. And how Couch- How Sofa looked.
When they were together, if he called her Couch...
Misunderstandings. All the misunderstandings...
Knight slid into the chair next to Hottie and clapped a hand on Hottie's shoulder. "Working hard as ever, Brother?"
"Of course. Alfi-sama's schedule is packed."
Knight nodded. "Good! I've kept up with my training, so even if I must forgo sleep for 72 hours, I shall do so without any degradation in my skills or focus!"
LoreOwl's eyes widened and he looked over at Knight. "W-What?!"
Sofa slid into the chair next to Foxy and hummed appreciatively. "Good girl~ You've taken my advice." She reached out to pinch Foxy's side.
Foxy yelped, turning a bright red. "S-S-Sofa?!"
"Mm. You're at a good body-fat ratio. No more dieting. Just training. Thin girls are no good for our line of work."
LoreOwl's face turned red as he stared at the two beautiful women before immediately looking away. "L-L-Line of work?!"
Orca chuckled at LoreOwl's reaction and said, "Relax, LoreOwl... Owl? No, Lore. Relax, Lore. They're just a pair of beauties... Ah, have you never met any in your day-to-day?"
LoreOwl... Now renamed Lore apparently. He reached up to adjust his glasses and said, "N-N-No. I-I usually just study in my dorm, take notes on bits of lore from fandoms I'm interested in, then eat..."
"That won't do." Orca poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher as well and then nodded towards Hottie. "We should take him out. It won't do if he stammers around the girls."
Hottie paused mid-conversation with Knight and said, "Ah. That's a fair point. Our new coworker should get desensitized to beauty before meeting them."
All of the Project MirAIs girls were VERY attractive by any standard. Granted, they were already attractive when they joined... Hottie had seen the before pictures, after all. But considering Mister John had personalized their training regimes, also did their meals and nutrition, and then strictly arranged schedules so they had proper sleep cycles, even if their actual sleep SCHEDULE was disrupted...
"...Should we take him to Shinjuku tonight, Orca?" Hottie looked at Lore and said, "You're over 18, yes?"
"P-P-Pardon?! I-I mean, yes! I'm 22... I graduate this year from Tokyo University..."
Gomi-kun chuckled. "Oooh. This is gonna end poorly or make for GREAT stories later..."
Sofa let out a sly grin, idly playing with the rim of a nearby glass, swirling a finger around it. "Ooh... I know some of the girls from the nightlife there. A few of the hostesses. We can arrange a meeting or three."
"W-W-What?!"
Gomi-kun side-eyed Sofa and said, "You're doing it for him, but not me?"
Foxy immediately pinched Gomi-kun's side.
"OW!"
Sofa giggled. "That's why~"
"What are you talking- Oh."
Foxy glared. "YES OH! Even after...!"
"Th-That... WE WERE DRUNK!"
"SO!?"
Hottie sighed and then flagged down a waiter to get some sake.
It was a bit early for drinking...
But at this rate, he'd need it to get through this meeting...