Chapter 376 - Chapter 331 First Meeting
"Yo."
Shou-kun.
"We've been waiting for you."
Saturday afternoon. I came to Mion's studio, not the usual Virtual Club Room.
It was 1:30 PM. From 2 PM, there was a meeting with the IRO operators, or rather, the sales people? Anyway, it was a meeting with the client who wanted to ask Mion to be the image character for the Jade Goddess.
"Shou-sama. Do you intend to wear that attire?"
Ah, I was still in my IRO avatar costume, just out of habit.
"Um, is this clothing problematic?"
"Yes. Please wear something a little more formal."
Tsubaki-san's eyes were serious, so I apparently had to change properly.
Mion, meanwhile, was wearing a light green sleeveless dress with a silver stole, which suited her very well.
Did Tsubaki-san choose it? Yeah, this outfit wouldn't look right next to that…
Shou-kun. How about a suit?
"No, I'm too embarrassed in a suit, please no…"
Searching 'formal' in avatar costumes… it's all suits. Uh, what about 'semi-formal'?
"…This set should be fine."
It was a very typical outfit: a white T-shirt, black jacket, and brown trousers.
"Is this okay?"
!
Mion looked surprised, but was it really that strange?
As I pondered if I should choose something better,
"Could you both stand side by side?"
"Eh, ah, yes."
When I answered, Mion smoothly moved to stand next to me.
Ah, so it's to check if we look out of place together.
"Yes. You both look very good together."
Since it seemed fine, I clicked to purchase it and have it expensed.
For now, there was still time until 2 o'clock, so it was a waiting game.
Mion pulled me by the hand to the sofa, and Tsubaki-san, sitting opposite us, handed me a memo.
"What's this?"
"This is today's meeting agenda."
"I see."
Mion peered at the memo I'd received. She hadn't seen it beforehand either.
The contents were a list of topics to discuss today. Though, it being a first meeting, there wasn't anything too major.
"Our conditions have already been conveyed. Given that, and with this being a face-to-face meeting, I don't believe any harsh demands will come from their side."
"Understood."
Our condition was just Mion's request not to use her game footage in PVs without permission, but that's apparently being resolved with an update.
Other points were not taking on roles that didn't suit her image as a high school student, and negotiating contracts for each song if she were to sing.
"Mion, are you enthusiastic about singing?"
Yes. I'd be happy if Shou-kun could play for me.
"W-well, if they ask for it, I'll do my best, but…"
I'd think there'd be proper musicians for PVs and such.
As we were talking about that,
"An invitation has arrived. Are you ready?"
"Y-yes…"
"Understood."
Mion had turned off her synthesized voice; she seemed a little nervous, as expected.
I was just an escort, so I felt no particular tension…
"Want to hold hands?"
When Miki was little, we often held hands, and it apparently helped her calm down.
"Mm."
"Ah, yeah."
…
I don't think intertwining fingers and gripping like that is quite right, though?
…
…
…
"Welcome. Thank you for taking the time to join us today."
The room felt like a very typical virtual conference room.
Upon entering, we were politely greeted by an elderly woman in a suit. Older than Shizuku-san, I wonder?
"I am Satou Kotono, President of Rokujo Group, Six Elements Entertainment."
Huh? President? I almost blurted it out but managed to hold it in.
Mion seemed surprised too, but Tsubaki-san remained perfectly composed…
After introductions, we took our seats.
"First, an apology. Yamazaki of SES was scheduled to join us today, but it seems her previous meeting is running over, so she'll likely join us midway."
"Understood."
Yamazaki is Misha P, right?
I expected someone from IRO operations to be here, but she's late.
"Now, regarding the Non-Disclosure Agreement…"
Difficult discussions began, and documents were handed over.
These had been provided in advance, and I had already looked them over.
Essentially, it was a standard contract stating that confidential information learned through work would not be disclosed.
If Mion were to appear in any PVs, she would first see what kind of PV it was, and if it contained unreleased information… I'd have to be careful not to accidentally leak anything during a live stream…
"Ah, Yamazaki is here."
At Satou-san's words, the room door opened, and Misha P, whom I'd seen before, appeared.
"I apologize for being late!"
She bowed deeply before taking her seat.
She seems like a very easygoing person…
"Where were we?"
"Up to the NDA discussion."
"Understood. Uh, then, first I'll explain about the requests we received."
What she said next was, well, quite surprising.
The condition that Mion's game footage would not be used in PVs would be extended to all players, allowing them to set their PV recording preferences in stages.
There would be three patterns: full permission, confirmation for each instance, and full refusal, and the terms of service would be changed accordingly.
Apparently, there would also be a monthly discount based on the number of days they selected full permission…
"So, if Mion sets it to full refusal, she'll be fine?"
"Yes. A dialog will appear for everyone to set their preference when they log in after the update. Oh, and of course, you can change it later."
I'd asked instinctively, but Misha P answered thoroughly and politely.
Considering all the blunders I make, maybe I should set it to full refusal too…
"Ah, if possible, we'd appreciate it if Shou-san wouldn't choose full refusal."
"Huh?"
"It would be better to have a separate contract for that."
Tsubaki-san quickly interjected.
"Th-this is separate from Mion-san's current discussion… Please let me take it back for consideration."
Seriously…
"Yamazaki-san, may I return to the topic?"
"Ah, yes. The rest is basically up to you."
From there, the explanation of the image character's job duties continued, all within expectations, and they agreed to all of our requests.
"Finally, we would like you to sing IRO's songs, and we wish to release them from SEE."
"Y-yes…"
Mion's voice was a little quiet, but she answered clearly with her own voice.
"May I ask about the future schedule for that?"
"That topic will be handled by Yamazaki."
"To start immediately, we'd like to ask you for the next Demon Kingdom update PV."