Chapter 495 - IRO Management (6): Fairy's Paradise
"Starting next week, there's a club training camp in Okinawa. After that, Shou-kun will be going home to visit his family, so it looks like the live streams will be on break."
"Well, I suppose we can't rule out that this is related to that whole incident... but since it wasn't mentioned at all in the reply, I think we're safe."
"Phewww... that's good... sooo good..."
Misha P slumped face-down onto her desk, whereupon GM Choco, as always, began preparing a cup of coffee.
Her expression was awkward—somewhat exasperated, as if to say, If you were this worried, why didn’t you take action earlier?
"So, what about that island access thread? You already disabled anonymous posts, right?"
"Yeah. Right after the live ended, demands to disable anonymity suddenly surged past the threshold. Honestly, why didn’t we do this sooner?"
"Well, sure, but I didn’t exactly expect something like this to blow up while I was on a business trip..."
Misha P had been overseas for negotiations regarding IRO’s expansion into Western countries.
She had just returned that evening and learned about the incident—
"But I did keep in contact, right?"
"I didn’t even have time to check. They’re over there demanding we let them connect to our servers, but we’re absolutely not opening cross-border access."
She lifted her head from the desk and accepted the coffee.
GM Choco, having handed it over, slowly settled into the sofa.
"All that effort to fully integrate the national personal authentication system would go to waste otherwise."
"Exactly. With a half-baked system, we’d just be stuck in an endless game of whack-a-mole with RMT operators."
At IRO, even RMT conducted through external sites is carefully investigated and addressed.
First offense: warning, confiscation of items and in-game currency used in the transaction, and placement under strict monitoring. Second offense: permanent ban via hardware ID.
Both Misha P and GM Choco agreed that the disadvantages of allowing connections from overseas—where strict personal authentication isn’t feasible—far outweighed any benefits, especially since it would undermine these strict enforcement measures.
"So, did the talks reach a conclusion?"
"I told them: 'You can have the game system, set up your own operation team in your country, and run it differently—but under strict conditions.' For example, they can't replicate Japanese-exclusive features like the World Quest or Uninhabited Island Start."
"In the end, they just saw IRO getting popular and went, 'Let us play from our country too!' Sounds just like those guys jealous of Shou-kun’s island."
"I’m middle management, so I’ll stay neutral. Did upper management accept the proposal?"
"They’re still deliberating. But if they flat-out reject it, we’ll just have to rely on our final trump card—Chieri-chan’s power."
"...Don’t you think it’s about time you stopped calling the group’s chairwoman 'Chieri-chan'?"
Ignoring GM Choco’s exasperated look, Misha P checked her tablet.
"Ah, SEM reached out—they’re asking if they can use the in-game vocals, even if it’s just the audio files. What do you think about that?"
She deflected with a new question.
"They already replied. It’s fine, as long as it’s done in a way that doesn’t reveal Mion-san is on the island."
"Oh, good."
Mion had sung during today’s live, and even treated them to an impromptu performance afterward. While they couldn’t use visuals for PVs, the audio alone held significant value.
And if they could include all the songs she’d sung in-game up to now, the album would easily have enough tracks.
"Hmm... anything else we need to confirm?"
"About ending Uninhabited Island Start—we’re sticking to the original schedule, right?"
"Of course. Announce the countdown starting Monday."
It was also GM Choco’s subtle way of confirming: They might cry 'discrimination' over not being able to access the Uninhabited Island, but we’re ignoring that completely, right?
"Besides, Shou-kun paid his monthly fee in advance and has way more playtime than anyone. Talking about 'fairness' doesn’t even make sense."
"By the way, the people who complained? They tried searching for the island and gave up after ten minutes."
"How pathetic. Wait—you actually checked that?"
Misha P set her tablet down on the desk and sank deep into her gaming chair.
GM Choco merely shrugged at her incredulous expression.
"Well, if they’re going to complain, I figured they might’ve at least tried."
"People capable of that much effort wouldn’t be complaining in the first place."
"True enough."
For GM Choco, the result was exactly what she’d expected—so she had no further thoughts on the matter.
"Ah... training camp, home visits... sounds nice."
"We’re taking summer break in shifts. When are you planning to take yours, Misha-san?"
"Hmm... the time that looks most manageable is..."
She tapped at her tablet, projecting a calendar onto the air display.
From today—her return after the business trip—until after the Obon holiday, the schedule looked clear.
"I think now would be the best time. The fact that Mion-san and the others are pausing their live streams means..."
"Ah, right. The chances of some catastrophic incident happening would be lower... or, well, actually much lower?"
"Hard to say. But at least there won’t be any live streams running in real time during that period, so you can relax about that."
Hearing that, Misha P drew a line on the calendar for the coming week.
It would perfectly overlap with Shou and the others’ training camp.
"Are you going on a trip to Okinawa or something?"
"No way. I’m just staying home and sleeping until I can’t sleep anymore."
She snapped the tablet shut.
The date had turned to Sunday. The time: 2:00 a.m.
"Work’s done for today!"
"Let’s head home."
"Let’s go grab some ramen!"
"My treat. Oh, and add some beer too."
"Nice! Let’s toast!"
【Update History】
10/7 Chapter 435: Leisurely Preparations with the Fairies — Up to this chapter
Volumes 1 and 2 are now available. Volume 3 releases on 12/15!
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