kscans

Chapter 494 - Conspicuous People

Three days after it was decided that Parfait would participate in Fight☆Club's battle video, she logged in to find Rick and Abel already at the base.

Today was the day Cynthia and Ginny would be presenting their outfit ideas to Break, Kazatoki, and Lion. Parfait had logged in right after getting home, but she was surprised to see the two of them there before her.

"—so, can I ask you to do that?"

"I can, but I don't know if I'll get a positive answer, you know?"

"I know. Just if you can is fine."

"Got it, I'll pass it on then."

After that exchange, Abel noticed Parfait and raised a hand in greeting. "Yo." Spurred by that, Rick also turned and gave a small wave, and Parfait raised a hand back. "Wee." It was a greeting Parfait had been into lately.

"It's unusual to see you two logged in at this hour, isn't it?"

It was currently evening, right after school. Abel had a lot of acting work and coaching, so he usually logged in at night, and Rick also had a lot of things to do in the real world, so he rarely logged in this early.

For those two to be logged in before Parfait was strange, to say the least.

"I just had a little favor to ask of Abel. I couldn't be sure who might be listening in the real world, so I consulted with him here."

"Oh, really? Is it something I can hear about?"

"I don't mind. It's about you, after all, Parfait."

"Huh? Me?"

"It's fine for you to be in the battle video, but Diite-san asked us to keep you from standing out, remember?"

"Ah, I guess I'm causing you trouble."

"It's not a bother. It's like a job that benefits me too."

Rick said, shaking his head.

Apparently, he was getting an allowance, in the name of a salary, from Diite for this, and the success fee was high. It was unclear why such a deal had been made, though.

"I get the situation, but you consulted Abel-kun about it? Oh, maybe Abel-kun will be in the battle video with his face showing?"

There was no doubt that Parfait was famous in AFO, but in terms of general recognition, Abel, being an actor, was more famous. It wasn't a bad idea to use an even more conspicuous person to hide Parfait.

Parfait came to this conclusion, but Abel denied it.

"If I stand out, this clan will stand out. And that would make the clan leader, Parfait, stand out too, so that's a no-go, apparently."

"I see. Then what did you ask Abel-kun to do?"

"I was thinking of having him ask Ash-san and Ren-san if they could be in the battle video."

"...I think that's on a whole other level of conspicuous, don't you?"

Ash and Ren. To say there wasn't a person who didn't know them would be an exaggeration, but they were famous enough movie actors to warrant such a comparison, and every movie they starred in was a box office hit.

They were both busy, so they didn't come to the cafe often, but they always stopped by when they started and finished filming, and whenever there was some kind of event. They were also on good terms with her father, Hayato. Ren was also good friends with her mother, Esha, and she had often seen the two of them happily eating parfaits and pudding together since she was a child.

They had even lived with Hayato's family for a time, and had worked part-time at the cafe. She had wondered what the circumstances were, but after hearing about AFO recently, it all made sense.

If Ash and Ren were in the battle video, the goal of not letting Parfait stand out would probably be achieved, but there was a possibility that Break's company would stand out too much.

"I've thought about that. The talent agency they belong to is affiliated with Virgo. It wouldn't be strange for them to appear in a video from Break-san's clan."

"It might not be strange, but if they put out a video like that, won't Break-san's company have its big break? ...Ah, that wasn't a pun."

Break had various meanings, but here it meant to become popular. Ash and Ren generally gave magazine interviews, but they had little other exposure. If the two of them appeared in a video, there was no way their fans would miss it. The video's view count could go up by a digit.

"That's true, but isn't that a good thing? If Break-san's company becomes popular, it'll help Kazatoki-san and the others. And this is a personal connection, not a Foundation one."

"That may be true, but do you think Break-san will agree? If we bring in such famous people, won't that be the 'uncool move' he was talking about?"

"...That's a possibility. A celebrity on Parfait's level might be one thing, but globally famous people like Ash-san and Ren-san might be more of a nuisance. Well, it's not set in stone, so first, I'll have Abel sound them out. I'll have to sound out Break-san on our end too."

Rick was writing various things in the memo section of his system menu, which he used as a notepad. Just looking at the schedule, which was packed with text, made Parfait dizzy, but there was also something written there that she couldn't help but comment on.

"Rick-kun, um, how many people are you planning to ask? And I see a lot of names I know."

"Ah, you saw that. It's going to be tough to keep Parfait from standing out unless we ask a fair number of people. I've reached out to people like Ingrid-san from Bandit Clan, Balbara-san from Knights of Sweets, and other tamer-type clan leaders like Orion-san, Deeger-san, and Rhadia."

"...Those are all bigger clans than Fight☆Club. Is that okay?"

"From the feelers I put out, it seemed fine. They were all positive about it because they want to fight Parfait. I also told them that whether they'll actually get to fight is a different story, so there's no problem."

"Is that really not a problem...?"

"It should be fine. Besides, none of those clans focus on video streaming, so they seem to be interested in Break-san, who can do real-world streaming."

Video streaming itself was a simple operation, but that was only for in-game videos. To stream in the real world, you needed to go through a fair number of procedures, so only specialized clans that focused on video streaming did it. In the first place, even major, regular clans wouldn't get permission to stream in the real world.

Since it was an event, they were interested in real-world streaming too, and Rick explained that they were saying if he could handle that, they would be happy to participate.

"Ah, I think Orion-san and the others were saying they wanted to make healing videos with their pets. And I heard they got an offer from a company related to Zoo."

"That's right. Deeger-san also said he wanted to make a video introducing dinosaurs. Ingrid-san and Rhadia just seem to want to fight Parfait, though."

"Ah, yeah... Wait, what about Balbara-san?"

"Balbara-san is apparently interested in streaming a sweets-eating contest video."

"I'm interested in that too... But still, you've reached out to a lot of people."

She knew them, but they were all major clans. Bandit Clan was in a league of its own, but even without them, all the others combined would be a considerable force.

Not all of them would be in the battle video, and just having a lot of people didn't mean they would get good results in this event, but in terms of clan numbers alone, they would be bigger than Kiss of Death.

"Even though they're major clans, they usually just enjoy the other clans' performances at the Spirit Festival. And since Kiss of Death is too strong in this event, they want to make a stand this time, apparently."

"People in major clans do seem to be competitive, don't they."

"By the way, I also reached out to Benitsuru-san and Simon-sensei."

"Huh...?"

Benitsuru was Parfait's sword master, and Simon was treated as a fellow student.

Benitsuru was the successor to the Azuma-ryu sword style and was quite strong. Or rather, her movements were so incredible that she didn't seem to fit into the category of 'strong'. Naturally, Simon was also strong, and Parfait had yet to land a single blow on her.

The two of them were so strong that until recently, Parfait had thought she herself was weak. If those two were in the battle video, it wouldn't just be exciting. They would treat any opponent like a child.

"They seemed interested, but they turned me down. I thought they would stand out because they both have a certain flair, but they said it would be a bad idea for them to be in a battle video."

"Thank goodness... You haven't reached out to any other strange people, have you?"

"Other than that, I haven't. It's difficult to find people who are strong and have a tenuous connection to Parfait, without it getting involved with the Foundations."

Benitsuru and Simon clearly had a strong connection to Parfait, but Rick's argument was that since their dojo was unknown, it didn't really matter.

"Hey, didn't you say Natsu's old man was strong?"

Abel said, eating a crepe with a prominent strawberry that he had taken out from somewhere.

"Natsu-chan's dad... Mist-ojisan, right. I think I heard he was roleplaying as a vampire. But still, the Hospital is probably busy."

"I guess so. He's probably busier than an actor. Then Chris's parents are out too, huh."

"They're the Foundation Overseer's bodyguard and maid. I want them to relax at home on their rare days off... relax and enjoy camping in the jungle."

"Come to think of it, Chris was saying something like that on Cat Island. In that case, who else—"

"My parents are out. They're regular people, after all."

Abel looked at Rick, so Rick said that, preemptively.

In Parfait and her friends' minds, their parents were divided into the AFO cold sleep group and the regular group. Rick's parents, Ox and Miliara, were in the regular group, just like Hayato.

"Then Ginny's... let's see, her old man was in the regular group and her mom was in the cold sleep group, right. Then she might be able to fight—"

"Hold on, hold on. It's one thing to list candidates without regard to the conditions, but don't forget the premise of not making Parfait stand out."

"Oh, right. It's not enough that they can just fight, they have to have something that makes them stand out more than Parfait. In that case— I'll ask my old man and Ren-neesan— Should I ask Agres-san too? Pat-san and Suien-san are probably out, though."

"Agres-san, huh. If possible, I'd like to ask him."

"Alright, got it. Then I'll ask the seniors at my agency."

"I appreciate it, but we can only have two of them at most. Any more and it'll look like Break-san's company has been taken over. I want to avoid that."

Dragon Soul was the talent agency founded by Abel's grandfather, Veru. There were few talent agencies to begin with, so it could be considered a large corporation with many actors.

Break's company was a Foundation company, but Break himself didn't identify as a Foundation member, so it was still a small company. Looking at the current power balance, Dragon Soul undoubtedly had the upper hand.

"There's a lot to consider, huh. But I get the general idea. Everyone's busy, so don't expect too much, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I'm causing you a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry about it. My folks are grateful to Hayato-san and Esha-san for where they are now. If I say Parfait might be in trouble, they'll usually lend a hand."

Parfait was grateful to Ash, Ren, and the others, and to her parents. She hadn't expected things to get this big when she said she would be in the battle video, so she would reflect on what needed reflecting on, but other than that, she was just grateful to everyone around her.

"By the way, changing the subject, is the main venue for the Spirit Festival at that big tree called the World Tree?"

"Ah, that's right. I had Natsu and Chris go check it out, and apparently it's been pretty lively since the first day. I'm planning on going today too. Well, after Natsu and the others get here and Ginny and her friends' presentation is over."

"Oh, I see. Then let's all go together!"

Abel said, then his face went blank and he seemed to be lost in thought.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, come to think of it, a long time ago, Randa-san told me it was yaba-i to go to the World Tree as a couple. I wonder what she meant by that."

At that, Parfait and Rick also tilted their heads.

The World Tree was like a symbol of the Spirit Country and was also a date spot. At night, if you looked out over the forest from the top of the World Tree, the entire area would be covered in a pale blue light, creating a scene that could only be described as fantastical.

Parfait had never seen it before, but she had thought she would like to see it at least once. Not that she had a boyfriend or even anyone she liked, she made a slightly sad jab at herself in her mind.

Putting that aside, she wondered what was so dangerous about it.

"Maybe some powerful monster appears?"

"I wonder. Maybe a super strong rare monster appears or something."

"A rare monster that appears when you go as a couple? What, like Cupid?"

"Who knows? Maybe it appears out of jealousy?"

As they were talking, a voice chat request came from Ginny.

"I did it! I got permission to make Kazatoki-san's Nine-Tailed Fox Version and Lion-san's Magical Girl Archangel Version outfits!"

"Congratulations... I think?"

Putting aside the Nine-Tailed Fox Version, she had no idea what a magical girl archangel was, but it gave her a very ominous impression.

"Of course it's congratulations! Kazatoki-san didn't seem to quite get it, but Lion-san agreed after understanding various things. But Lion-san is a quick study! In the middle of the explanation, it was like the light had vanished from her eyes, but to immediately act out the part of an archangel whose emotions had been stolen by God... I can only say, as expected...! Ah, I want to spend money on her...!"

"I don't think that was acting... And it's not good to give money directly, you know?"

"Yes, I'm aware. So, Cynthia-san and I will be concentrating on creating the outfit designs for a while!"

"Got it. Then we'll gather spider silk and cloth while we check out the event. Let us know if you need anything else."

"Thank you very much. Then Cynthia-san and I will create the best outfits together!"

Ginny said, and the voice chat ended. After that, she relayed the contents to Rick and Abel.

"I don't really know, but that was a good thing, right?"

"...Probably."

"Probably? Well, it's an event, so as long as it's fun, it's fine, right. For you, Rick, would it be bad if we don't get a high rank?"

"Not that bad, but right now, I'm more interested in aiming for the top in the battle category than the outfit category. I haven't forgotten about keeping Parfait from standing out, but I think the act of using various connections to increase the battle video's view count is fun, like planning an event. And if we're going to do it, we're naturally aiming for the top."

"Rick is the same as always, huh."

"What do you mean, the same as always?"

Parfait listened to their conversation as she began to prepare to go to the World Tree.