Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency

A tense silence. Sakura kept smiling, waiting for a response.

Rin cleared her throat and sipped on her hot chocolate. After that, she said, "W-What do you mean? I never did anything like that, aha..."

Okay, so Rin knew that it was a mess doing that guerilla stream since things randomly escalated, but she couldn't think of what her mom meant by breaking one of the clauses in the contract...

Sakura sighed and said, "Looks like you don't even know what you did wrong."

Rin frowned and then said, "Um... I didn't really do anything wrong though? I mean, the Tweeter space didn't really work out like how I thought it would, but it was fine, right?"

Mister John shut it down, and there wasn't any evidence pointing to who any of them really were.

Well, some people saw who they were, but there weren't any photos or videos.

Sakura let out a deep sigh and said, "This is my fault. I tried to raise you up right, but I guess I couldn't do it by myself."

Rin bristled and said, "What do you mean? You did great, Mom! You worked super hard to get us food, a house... so hard that you even got sick."

Rin could still remember it. Although her mom was better now, it wasn't long ago that she was on her deathbed in the hospital.

Seeing her mother so thin and spindly like that...

Rin shook it off and then said, "You raised me up perfectly, Mom."

"Mm. I did the best I could. But it looks like you picked up a lot of bad habits since I had to work a lot."

Rin shook her head and said, "That's not true!" She smiled and said, "I make sure to take plenty of breaks and sleep well! Just like you and the Ohana tell me too. Oh, and Mister John too."

Mister John kept reminding Rin about that all the time now. And whenever he thought Rin was streaming too much, he made sure to ping her and then schedule an 'important business meeting' just to make her take a forced break.

Sakura blinked and then said, "That's good, Sweetie. But..." She tilted her head, staring at Rin before muttering, "You really don't get it, huh?"

"Eh?" Rin tilted her head too and said, "Get what, Mom?"

Sakura tapped her fingers on her table and said, "I didn't get a chance to ask since I was sick, but how was your first year of high school, Sweetie?"

Rin flinched and then rubbed her arm. "...It was fine."

She tried hard not to think of all the people who made fun of her for her clothes and lunch and hair and...

Rin shook her head and said, "But anyway, school doesn't matter now, right?" She smiled and said, "I have the Ohana, Mister John hired me for a job that pays suuuper good, and we have enough money to not worry for the rest of our lives. It's like we hit the jackpot!"

Sakura's eyes dimmed and she said, "Oh Sweetie..."

xxx

Sakura stared at Rin's face, not knowing what to say.

Rin was staring back with clear eyes. Not a shred of doubt or guilt about what she did, or worry about the future.

In the past, that was all Sakura wanted for her Sweetie. Like Rin said, Sakura did a lot for them.

Because of that, Rin had grown up to be more mature than other children. Weighing the pros and cons, being a bit self-sacrificing...

By watching Sakura work, Rin had managed to pick up those bad traits and grew up faster than other children, always standing out a bit as a result.

But since meeting John and joining Project MirAIs, Rin could finally act like a child again. She could have fun, laugh, smile...

That wasn't necessarily a good thing though.

While Sakura was glad that her sweet baby girl could act like a normal girl, Rin wasn't in a position to do that.

Rin frowned and said, "What?" She looked worried and said, "...Do we have more bills to pay? Is that hospital holding something against you or something?" She clenched her fist and said, "I knew it! I'll go ask Mister John to-"

"No." Sakura shook her head and said, "It's not that."

Rin blinked and then said, "Then what's wrong, Mom? Why do you look so sad?"

Sakura covered her face with her hands to think.

...It was a delicate situation. She had thought that Rin was well-adjusted and returned to being a normal teenaged girl, but that definitely wasn't the case.

From the way Rin had reacted about school... No, from the fact that she had resolved herself to do 'that' before fortunately meeting John instead, she had never been in a good headspace.

And despite everything, Rin was still young. Barely sixteen years old.

"Mom?" Rin shifted her cup of hot chocolate to the side and said, "Is everything alright? ...Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, Sweetie." Sakura lowered her hands and then looked at Rin. "Just..." She hesitated for a bit.

Rin frowned and said, "Come on, Mom. You can tell me anything." She straightened up and patted her chest, saying, "I can take care of you now, you know?"

Sakura stared at Rin.

A bright-eyed gaze, completely different from Sakura's own jaded expression. But...

Sakura tapped on the table for a bit and said, "Rin. What are your friends- No, the 'Ohana' to you?"

"Huh?" Rin blinked and said, "Isn't it obvious?" She smiled and said, "They're my best friends! Practically family! That's why they're called Ohana... Ah, Ohana means family. I don't know if I ever told you that. Oh! And they do a lot of cool things for me too... Some of them spoil me a bit much though like big brothers would. And..."

Rin kept talking, her expression growing brighter as she did.

And that was when Sakura was sure of it. Her daughter was substituting her fans for real life friends. No, not just 'substituting.' Rin wasn't able to distinguish between the two.

"Sweetie."

Rin paused and said, "Yes, Mom?"

Sakura said, "Could you tell me why you did that Tweeter space?"

Rin frowned and said, "I just wanted to share things with the Ohana. I mean, it's not fair that only I get to see Onee-chan and Aneue being cute, you know? Plus, it was perfectly okay! Mister Titor gave us a lot of cool gadgets to block out all the evidence... and even if they didn't, the Ohana know how to keep secrets!"

Sakura covered her face and muttered, "Oh dear lord above, please help this poor unfortunate soul..."

"Huh?" Rin tilted her head and said, "Since when were you religious, Mom?"

Sakura sighed.

xxx

John sneezed and then pulled out a tissue to wipe his nose.

Jenny raised an eyebrow and said, "That's been happening a lot more recently, Big Bro."

John sighed and said, "Yeah. It's the result of being more active in the world and meddling with people's lives. Karma and people talking behind your back, you know?"

Jenny glanced at her tablet, scrolling through social media. "It seems like it." She looked back up and said, "Your Googol search hits are spiking again. Not to mention that you're trending on all social media platforms. Again."

John nodded and said, "As expected."

At the moment, John was in his home office back in the new Smith family home on the second floor.

Downstairs, the faint sounds of kids playing echoed, mixed with a baby's babbling and Yue's concerned voice.

Jenny glanced at the door and said, "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Little Xuan and Little Wu over? I don't remember as much as Titor does about your past, but..."

John pulled out a cup of coffee from his Heavenly Realm and sipped on it. After that, he said, "Better now when Yue is still giddy from our adorable Aurora than later when Aurora isn't quite so adorable anymore and more of a little gremlin."

"...That's some faith you have in your daughter there, Big Bro."

"It's not faith. It's certainty." John waved his cup of coffee around and said, "It's partially her fault that all these shenanigans with Yue started in the first place anyway. If my cute baby girl wasn't so impatient, things would have been fine. And I would have had another month playing games, but that's neither here nor there."

"Right..." Jenny tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and said, "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you more about Project MirAIs. Specifically, the girls in Project MirAIs."

John nodded and said, "I'm all ears... For about another half hour." He glanced at the door and said, "I promised the kids I'd show up to play with them in a bit, so this needs to be a bit quick."

Jenny nodded and said, "No problem. I'll keep it brief then." She looked up at John and said, "Big Bro."

"Yeah?"

"...You need to give each of the girls life counseling."

John blinked and said, "...Run that by me again?"

"You heard me." Jenny crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "It's time for the return of the idiot savant who was infamous for fixing the problems of women all over the Three Realms."

John blinked again and then groaned, covering his face. "...Right. We never properly hired that nurse because of Bai and-"

"And since Project MirAIs is getting bigger, all the hidden mental issues and trauma the girls have are going to be magnified, yes."

"...Is it too late to hire a psychologist?"

"Do you want the world to know that the girls have mental health issues?"

John let out a deep sigh.