According to the testimony of the captured terrorists, Mr. Kuga had intended to introduce my neighbor to their group during the event, then wring money out of them as a reward.
When the bureau got involved, the situation descended into turmoil.
Once Winterfest was over and a suitable amount of time had passed, it would be announced that Mr. Kuga had committed suicide. According to the chief, the criminal investigation was already over and talks were complete; having state authority truly made all the difference. Only the bureau and a few people involved with Otherworld Productions knew anything about the incident.
And so, day two of Winterfest began as scheduled. My neighbor and Abaddon took part, and while they didn’t have much screen time, they told me they’d have a chance to speak on the secondary stage.
Meanwhile, as her manager, I now had some free time, which I used to walk around the hall with Miss Hoshizaki, Ms. Futarishizuka, and Type Twelve. After the previous day’s disturbance, we’d all received free passes from OtherPro’s bigwigs, giving us unlimited access to all the events.
The very first place we went was the cosplay area—on Type Twelve’s request. And this time, we weren’t going to watch. We’d be in costume.
Personally, I would have preferred to abstain. Ms. Futarishizuka and Miss Hoshizaki seemed similarly reluctant. But with how much Type Twelve had done for us the day before, nobody in our pretend family could say no to her, and so the decision to participate was made by majority vote.
We were now all in costume. Ms. Futarishizuka and I had changed into our Masked Sailor and Demonic Middle Manager outfits, respectively. Initially, I wasn’t sure we should reuse the costumes, considering what we’d gotten up to the day before, but I could see others dressed in similar outfits around the cosplay area. It seemed both our characters were surprisingly popular.
Meanwhile, Type Twelve was wearing an Ochiba Kareki outfit. Since we’d promised the day before that we’d let her dress up, she’d started putting the costume together right away, and was done by the start of pretend family time. We were stunned when we saw her—she’d dyed her hair black and even changed her eye color. Apparently, these were optional extras for her point of contact.
“Excuse me! Can I take a picture of you?” “Oh, me too!” “Could you look this way?” “You’re cosplaying Ochiba Kareki, right?” “She was pretty impressive onstage yesterday.”
“I do not mind. You may photograph me to your hearts’ content. Take as many pictures as you’d like.”
For some time, Type Twelve had been fielding an endless procession of photo requests. She readily consented to all of them without a second thought.
“Can you look this way, too?” “Wow, you did a really good job on your outfit!” “Is that man over there your dad?” “Do you want to exchange contact information? That way I can send you the pictures I just took.”
“You are more than welcome to photograph me. However, my guardian has prohibited me from exchanging contact details.”
All the while, the edges of her mouth kept twitching and trembling, like she was desperately holding back the joy welling up in her heart but couldn’t quite hide all of it. Considering her usual impassive expression, this was a pretty rare sight. All that attention must have been soothing her heart on a deep level.
As a bureau employee, I had to keep the existence of mechanical lifeforms a secret. But since Type Twelve was in costume and pretending to be Ochiba Kareki, it didn’t seem like too big a deal to let all those people photograph her.
“Excuse me, could I get a picture of you all together? A group photo?”
“Oh? I know your type—an amateur hobbyist who likes to go around taking pictures of ladies presenting exhibitions and such. Well, I must say, you have good taste.”
“Actually, I was wondering if the Demonic Middle Manager could join in as well.”
“Would you like me to strike an erotic pose for you, child? Perhaps a little skirt flip?”
“Oh, um, no thank you. Since you’re cosplaying a minor, that would raise ethical concerns…”
A few people asked Ms. Futarishizuka and me for pictures, too. I never thought I’d be cosplaying or getting photographed at my age. While my face was hidden behind a layer of special-effects makeup, I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about letting people I didn’t know snap pictures of me. But Ms. Futarishizuka kept agreeing, forcing me to go along with her.
The only one of our group in normal clothes was Miss Hoshizaki. She wore her usual suit, her face covered in makeup. On second thought, maybe you could call that a kind of costume, too.
“……”
Incidentally, she had been staring at her smartphone at every opportunity, fidgeting restlessly. Compared to other people her age, she didn’t look at her phone all that much, so this uncharacteristic behavior raised some questions in my mind. Even now, she was looking at the screen with a complicated expression.
“Not a fan of cosplay, Miss Hoshizaki?” I asked.
“No, it’s just that we don’t know how they’re gonna use those pictures they take, right? If we go wild in front of all these people we’ve never met, I’m pretty sure we’ll regret it.”
“I suppose you’re right. Things like that do happen from time to time.”
I tried to strike up a conversation, but it didn’t go any further than that. Miss Hoshizaki’s attention was focused solely on her phone now, like before. She looked unwell, and it concerned me.
“You don’t look too good, Miss Hoshizaki. Would you like to go home?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, no. I’m fine, don’t worry.”
“Mother, if you are feeling unwell, then I propose transporting you to the medical facility I constructed on Mars.”
“What is this, a sci-fi novel?” Ms. Futarishizuka remarked. “My curiosity is certainly piqued.”
Lately, the mechanical life-form’s development of the solar system had grown more conspicuous. I assumed she already had the moon and Mars under her complete control. Space exploration groups from around the world were doubtless at their wits’ ends.
“All human diseases are completely curable at the facility. Furthermore, by administering you with nanomachines, I can guarantee you will never become sick again as long as you live and extend your life several times over. As your youngest daughter, I highly recommend this course of action.”
“I’m telling you, I’m not sick or anything!”
“She says it all like it’s nothing,” commented Ms. Futarishizuka. “This girl’s super-science is quite concerning.”
“It’s basically the same as a reward from the proxy war,” my neighbor pointed out.
“Yep! My partner’s right. In every age, there are plenty of Disciples who ask for rewards like that!”
If anyone found out about this, we’d be in another mess. Rich and influential people the world over would want it for themselves. Miss Hoshizaki didn’t seem to care much, though. Must be nice, being young, I thought.
“Something just occurred to me,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “Is this why you tried so hard yesterday?” She glanced at Type Twelve’s cosplay.
The mechanical life-form responded with her usual lack of concern. “Grandmother, Japanese dictionaries include a wonderful phrase called mochitsu motaretsu. It means reciprocity.”
“Right. Well, I’m glad you’re always so transparent, at least.”
It seemed Ms. Futarishizuka had been right about Type Twelve’s ulterior motives. And she was having a lot of fun. Her “simp for me” attitude had destroyed a whole class, after all.
“Um, more importantly!” said Miss Hoshizaki. “The contest ends today. You all sure seem confident. If you want extra time, we can have a vote to see if we should extend the deadline…”
“No, I’ve already given up on first place,” replied Ms. Futarishizuka.
“Mother, the youngest daughter has already accumulated sufficient views.”
“Oh,” said my senior colleague. “Then, uh, what about you? Sasaki?”
“Me? Well, I… Hmm…”
I thought of my channel. I’d abandoned it—it had been days since I last uploaded a video. Giving a detailed report now might affect how everyone else viewed their results, so I didn’t want to say too much.
“Don’t tell me you uploaded stuff you can’t show the rest of us,” she pressed.
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Oh. Um.” Miss Hoshizaki looked down, seeming disappointed. Did she want us to extend the deadline? This wasn’t like her; she was usually so peppy.
“Speaking of the contest,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “I just want to confirm with the girl’s manager—what are she and the boy planning to do now? From what I’ve seen, she approaches this work with more vigor than her academics.”
“They’re hoping to continue their activities,” I explained.
“Well, I suppose there are only so many ways for a child to make money.”
Evidently, Ms. Futarishizuka understood as well as I did why my neighbor and Abaddon were so intent on this VTuber business. “I thought we could watch over her warmly.”
“Oh, I was thinking of buying up all the OtherPro stock I could.”
“Please don’t do that.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s about to go up, though. Why shouldn’t I have some shares?”
“When you put it that way, I’m not sure what to say.”
And so the second day of Winterfest ended without incident.