“…Y-you really think so?”
Now that I’d seen the videos, I felt I had a good understanding of the situation. She was right—the high-quality 3D model and impressive mo-cap technology were the first things to draw my eye. But the scripts and overall storyline, including changing her model and starting over partway through, was really powerful.
I wasn’t sure how much of it was consciously thought out, but it made sense to me why someone would approach her. The equipment certainly didn’t seem wasted on her—at least, not after her restart.
Maybe it wasn’t nice to say so, but my neighbor’s subdued voice fit Ochiba Kareki’s visuals perfectly. That, plus the stark contrast between the two characters, must have really drawn in the viewers. It was also true that material found to be crude or lacking in subtlety by intellectuals was exactly the kind of thing the masses really liked.
“Even I have heard of this thing,” declared Peeps. “It is called a ‘vee-tuber,’ yes?”
“That’s right,” said my neighbor. “I’m always surprised by the family pet’s wisdom.”
“I read an article on the internet that explained it as a new method of expression for the digital age.”
I suspected the scout wasn’t quite sure what to make of my neighbor and Abaddon’s channel. Was she working alone, or as part of a company? Was a famous content creator assisting her? What was the scale of her operation, and how much money had been invested? They’d sent this email to test the waters and intended to figure out how she’d respond to an offer based on her reply. That was probably why the text had come out so indirect. They probably figured that if she was already supported by another company, she would simply turn them down.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you before we meet with the scout,” I said. “Is that all right?”
“Sure. I’ll answer any questions you have.”
“On a personal level, do you want to say yes to this offer?”
“If possible, I do—just as long as it won’t affect my activities in the proxy war. I know that one can receive incentives for online work, and since I’m still in middle school, I figured this was one of the few ways for me to make money.”
She must have apprehensions about her one-sided dependence on Ms. Futarishizuka, too. I definitely understood the feeling.
“Then why not try writing a reply? You can use my laptop,” I said, gesturing at the computer sitting on the low table. I hadn’t thought of any ideas for new videos, so maybe my time was better spent helping out my neighbor and Abaddon. I might have some kind of epiphany during the process.
“Are you sure? I know you’re probably busy…”
“No, I won’t go back on my word. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep helping you until you get your activities on track.”
“Um, yes! Thank you very much!” My neighbor offered me a formal bow.
“I’d like to offer my thanks, too. Since I’m also on the team and all.”
“Please don’t worry about it, Abaddon. We’re all family right now.”
After that, we sat at the low table and worked on a reply. Middle school kids rarely got the chance to exchange business emails, but my neighbor quickly drafted a safe, neutral response. Personally, this surprised me even more than the VTuber stuff. According to her, she’d read up on such things in the school library. Never underestimate the knowledge of an indiscriminate reader, I thought.
After a quick check-over, she sent the message off. She’d requested a meeting sometime in the next two weeks and asked if it could take place at their company headquarters.
Shocking all of us, a reply came back within minutes.
Dear Ochiba Kareki,
Thank you for your prompt reply. This is Kuga from Otherworld Productions.
I am overjoyed to hear you’re interested. Thank you so much for offering to come to our headquarters as well.
We have openings every day this week, both morning and afternoon. If you’d like, we could meet as early as tomorrow morning. If you’d prefer next week, I am booked up Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, but can meet with you any other day, either morning or afternoon.
Please let me know what time would be best for you. Thank you again for considering us.
They must really see value in Abaddon and my neighbor’s work, I thought. Or maybe they just have a lot of free time. Either way, it was an ardent reply.
“This Kuga seems quite enthusiastic,” I said.
“Should I call off the meeting?” asked my neighbor.
“No, no need. A quick reply isn’t a bad thing, and you can always change your mind after talking with him. And he accepted your offer to meet within the next two weeks. It’s just that the message makes it seem like he’s rather passionate about talking to you.”
Still, I wasn’t sure what to make of this person having almost half a week of availability. I didn’t know what department Kuga worked in, but it seemed unlikely he would have whole days without a single meeting. One possibility crossed my mind: Maybe Kuga contacted my neighbor because he had a leisurely post with a lot of time to kill.
At my last place of employment, I had a coworker who got his job via personal connections, then got shunted off to a window seat to twiddle his thumbs until retirement. This wasn’t unheard-of in Japanese work culture. The guy would constantly go to exhibitions and study groups on company time. I’d been a little envious of how the boss would tacitly allow him to go straight to these events and then head home without even coming into the office. But I got the feeling that if you lived like that for too long, it would crush your spirit.
On the other hand, if Kuga had opened up his schedule just for my neighbor, then it was a sign the company really, really wanted her.
A lot of the time, if you were a smaller company with a weak product, the other side would let you choose “any time in the next ten days,” but when you asked, it would turn out they only had about three to four hours available, and you’d be forced to adjust your schedule around the open slots.
Getting all the necessary related parties in the same room in such a small window of time was hell. Not only would you have to explain the situation to everyone involved, you’d have to contact all the departments with conflicting schedules and try to arrange some kind of compromise, asking for favors and such. It was really tough, and then if it fell through, and you had to start over, that was even worse.
And yet it seemed like Kuga was bending over backward for my neighbor.
“Can we do it tomorrow morning, then?” she asked.
“Sure, that works for me. Sometimes our boss calls me up out of nowhere and sends me on a job, so I’d prefer to take care of it as soon as possible. Getting there should be easy, so just pick a time you like.”
Kuga seemed to want to meet relatively soon as well, based on his suggestion. If my neighbor had taken even that into consideration, then I really had to take my hat off to her sagacity.
“Okay, I’ll write a reply,” she said. “Could you check over it again when I’m done?”
“To be frank, I’m not sure that’s really necessary.”
“No, I’m still a child with a lot to learn, so I’d really appreciate your advice…”
“Not backing down, eh?”
“Be quiet, Abaddon.”