Chapter 72 - Chapter 65: Kick-off Meeting
The usual [Virtual Club Room] held three of us: me, [Mion], and [Yata-sensei].
Bell-san and [Seth (Miki)] were already in [IRO], and a club-exclusive stream was scheduled to begin in about five minutes.
“I won’t say anything during the meeting. I’m supposed to be absent, you see.”
[Yata-sensei] said, then muted her microphone, and a mask with an 'X' mark appeared on her avatar.
Then,
[I’ll use this if anything comes up~]
She showed us a flip board with that written on it.
Was all that really necessary? Also, I don’t think she needs to write the long vowels. She’s a Japanese teacher, isn’t she?
“Are both of you ready?”
[Mion] nodded at Bell-san’s voice, so I responded.
“Alrighty then.”
“Okay, I’m starting now.”
And so, the [Witch's Manor] live stream… I made sure it was group-exclusive before connecting.
“How is it? Can you see it?”
What appeared was a large, conference-room-like space.
Bell-san sat at the head of a large rectangular table. To her left and right, and behind her, sat Gold-onee-sama and [Seth], as if attending her.
There were three people on each side of the table, making six. Nine people in total, I guess.
“Yes, it’s showing up.”
“Was that Shou-kun!?”
“I’ll introduce you, just a moment.”
I looked at [Mion] with an expression that said, This seems like a lot of trouble, and for some reason, she just smiled back.
*“Ahem. Alright, I’d like to begin the guild establishment kick-off meeting.
First, could our guests, Mion-san and Shou-kun, please introduce yourselves?”*
I’d heard that this was how it would go, so I introduced myself first.
“Hey, I’m Shou, playing on the uninhabited island. Nice to meet you all.”
“I’m Mion, streaming Shou-kun’s gameplay. Nice to meet you.”
We kept our introductions to a minimum to avoid revealing anything unnecessary. But then,
“Oh! It’s the real deal!”
“Mion-chaaan!”
Even though I knew it was coming, I was relieved to hear such a welcoming response.
But what was I supposed to do when they waved at the stream camera…
“Alright, alright, it’s our turn for introductions. You already know me, Gold-onee-sama, and Seth-chan, so we’ll skip those. Producers, please start with your leader.”
“I’ll go first, then.”
The introductions of the six members continued in a steady stream.
I figured it would be tough to remember all their faces and names, since we didn’t interact much in-game, but [Mion] was diligently taking notes.
----
Seating Order (Clockwise)
* Yuki: Leader. Spear, Cooking, [Material Processing Skill], [Accounting Skill]. Seems like a serious older sister type.
* Zeld: War Hammer, [Blacksmithing Skill], [Woodcraft Skill], [Crafting Skill]. A big, bearded old man.
* [Jinbee]: Sword, Small Shield, [Pottery Skill], [Material Processing Skill], [Crafting Skill]. Seems like a real ceramic artist.
* Bacchus: Axe, [Woodcraft Skill], [Carpentry Skill], [Logging Skill], [Crafting Skill]. A muscular older brother type.
* Season: Rapier, [Sewing Skill], [Material Processing Skill], [Crafting Skill]. A girl about Seth-chan’s age.
* Dimaria: [Farming Skill], Gardening, [Alchemy Skill], [Pottery Skill], [Material Processing Skill]. Seems like a kind older sister type.
----
She placed the notes where I could see them, and I scanned them… A lot of people with [Crafting Skill]?
I’d acquired [Crafting Skill] myself to make sewing needles, but I guess it’s useful in other areas too?
“Alright, introductions are done. Establishing the guild is a done deal, so today we’ll discuss what comes next.”
After this meeting, [Seth] would take Bell-san and Gold-onee-sama to make a request to [Viscount Edward Amiera].
If the request failed, guild establishment itself would be put on hold.
If they didn’t have the formality of a guild, they couldn’t receive direct requests from the nation—in this case, the nobles overseeing the [Development of New Towns]—so they would have to find other connections.
Seth (Miki), I really hope she’ll be okay…
“What I just distributed is the list of Shou-kun’s screw-ups that Mion-san made.”
“It’s an amazing list.”
“…It’s an amazing list.”
The women burst into laughter, giving thumbs-up to the camera.
The men were forcing smiles? I was super embarrassed. Could I just go home now?
“I saw the goblin settlement subjugation live, but it seems you’ve discovered various other things since then.”
That deep voice belonged to [Jinbee-san]. I remembered him immediately. He was my [Pottery Skill] master, after all.
“So, shall we take turns asking one question each?”
“Yes, that sounds good. Then, gentlemen, please go ahead.”
This was also according to plan, I guess.
They would ask questions about the items on the list, and I would just answer. How to turn them into business opportunities was for them to figure out.
Questions from us were also perfectly fine, and they said they’d answer as much as possible, but…
…
…
…
After one round of questions,
[It’s almost time~]
[Yata-sensei] showed us the flip board.
Already? I thought. A little over 5 minutes per person was quite short.
“Isn’t it about time?”
“Yes, it is. We have more things to do later, so let’s end today here.”
“Thank you!”
“Thanks for teaching us so much!”
“Looking forward to working with you! Ask us anything you want anytime!”
“Mion-chan, keep up the good work!”
“The same to you all. Good work everyone.”
“Good work, everyone.”
The stream ended, and I let out a sigh of relief.
Everyone except Bell-san and [Seth] were working adults, huh.
“Shou-kun, are you alright?”
“I want to say I’m fine, but… Honestly, I’m a bit mentally exhausted.”
[I’m relieved to see they’re all very capable people~]
“Yata-sensei, you don’t need the flip board anymore.”
“Oh, really? I quite enjoy this, you know.”
It seemed like there were other things written on it. What’s that [Colombia] written there…?
“But, everyone wasn’t surprised by anything except the light spirit story.”
“Right. It was more like, ‘Ah, I see.’ For things like ropes and sewing needles, it seems they just knew about them but hadn’t realized it.”
“People who play games normally tend to get pulled into the game’s conventions first, you see.”
That might be true. If I had started normally in a kingdom, I’d probably be doing quests with [Natto] and [Iincho] right now.
In the end, new potential guild products included [Luminous Moss], rope, bone sewing needles, awls, and so on.
Especially the [Luminous Moss]—if the story about it attracting light spirits was true, it could be quite profitable.
“If my discoveries get out there first, it might make [Mion]’s stream easier to maintain its relaxed pace.”
“Then, should we not show the light spirit on Saturday’s live stream?”
Indeed…
Even though we told them today, it wouldn't be verified immediately tomorrow, and everyone wouldn't know about it by Saturday, would they?
“Let’s discuss that tomorrow~. If we keep talking, it’ll be 10 o’clock~, why don’t you go play for a bit~?”
“Ah…”
“Yes. Shou-kun, let’s go.”
“Roger. I want to at least finish the pickaxe today.”
More importantly, I was worried [Lupi] might be upset about being neglected…