Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency

Monday morning, January 13. Although the weekend was abuzz with activity, as most things on the internet, by the time the weekend was finished, it was back to business as usual.

And for John, that business meant picking up the counselor hat that he hadn't worn for a while again while having a counseling session with the girls.

Seated at the desk in his office at Myth Inc. HQ, John casually sipped on a cup from his usual coffee supply in his Heavenly Realm. "Let's see..." He leaned back in his chair and took a look around the room.

Natural lighting. Various trinkets and knickknacks to add to the natural energy of the room... metaphorically and figuratively. And a complete rearrangement with beanbag chairs, a fluffy couch, cookies, a jar of candy...

Basically, as comfortable a room as you could get while maintaining the barest amount of professionalism.

John didn't know if it was anything close to what a real psychologist or counselor would have for an office, but he wasn't licensed as one, so it didn't matter.

Not to mention that there might be some untraditional counseling techniques employed, so... more comfort was better.

Still...

John glanced at the new set up and muttered, "Context really is everything, huh?"

Despite everything, it still seemed a little creepy to him. At least, personally.

Maybe it was the power dynamic? A vulnerable young woman going in for a private session with a 'professional' who would give advice on their future...

John sighed and said, "Why did people have to make normal things creepy..."

He shook his head and then pulled out his tablet to flip through his notes and schedule for the day.

To start with, the Prodigy girls, beginning with Asako, then Alphy, and finally Rin. A reverse order optimized in estimated time of duration.

Asako wouldn't take long to get the major points out of the way since she was a mature and mostly rational adult.

Alphy wouldn't take too long either since John knew her well and mostly needed to clarify some things... not to mention that it was about that time of the month for him to have a father-child catch up discussion with her.

And that reminded John that he needed to arrange one with his busy second daughter, Betty. It seemed like her business was going well, so he wanted to check on what she planned to do going forward.

Anyway.

He'd end off the first session with Rin, who likely would take a while.

Sakura recently called after having a chat with Rin back at home and said there were issues. While she had tried to sort them out with Rin, apparently it wasn't working.

Something or another about being too close and Rin being in the rebellious teenager phase thinking she knew best.

Since Sakura was frustrated, she was hoping John could talk some sense into Rin since he was someone Rin looked up to.

It was a lot of pressure, but it wasn't going to be the first time John dealt with teenaged girls who were overlooking their own inner demons because they were protecting loved ones.

After Rin, it was time for the long-awaited lunch break meeting with Yato-san. Then it was part two of life-counseling with the Prodigy girls.

John scrolled through the schedule on his tablet before swiping to the summaries that Jenny had provided from her observations of the girls.

"Let's see... For Asako, it's trauma, self-doubt, and imposter syndrome. Probably a mix of regret and anger at her father's death as well."

Asako was getting better now since she had Alphy and Rin to support her. Plus, she had family to fall back on in terms of Sakura and Rin too.

The relationship there was a bit awkward due to the history, but it was working.

Still, Asako never visited her father's grave and hadn't visited her mother's grave for a while either.

That explained why she was so strung up recently.

John switched to Alphy's bio and skimmed it. "Mm, pretty much what I expected."

She was still having heavy imposter syndrome and self-esteem issues. It was getting better since she saw how she improved the lives of the Alfis and since Couch, Knight, and Hottie came on board, but John still needed to have a heart-to-heart with his oldest daughter.

As for Rin...

"...I figured it was something like that."

Psychosis, a heavy parasocial relationship with her audience, repressed trauma, potentially PTSD...

John frowned, remembering how he ran into Rin at that sleazy 'karaoke' bar and what she had been planning to do.

He tapped his fingers on his desk and muttered, "I never did really ask about Rin's past, did I?"

John knew the surface level stuff. And he had a good idea of her general character, likes, dislikes, etc. from their interactions.

But he didn't know her story up until that point. At least, not in detail.

*ding*

A chime echoed as the elevator arrived, carrying the first of John's guests.

He put his tablet away and then stood up. Pulling out a pair of glasses and donning a white lab coat that he definitely didn't take from Titor when the guy wasn't looking, John put on a soft smile and waited.

The elevator doors opened, revealing Asako with frazzled hair and casual work-out clothes. A gray zip-up hoodie over a white shirt and gray sweatpants.

She stifled a yawn as she stepped out and said, "What the hell do you want to talk about this early..." She trailed off, suddenly realizing the change in decor, as well as John's attire. "...John? Huh?"

John adjusted his glasses and then walked back to his desk. "Take a seat and make yourself comfortable, Asako."

Asako hesitated for a bit, staring at John with confusion in her eyes. But then she nodded and dragged over a beanbag chair before plopping herself on top of it. After making herself comfortable, she crossed her arms and said, "So what gives? You trying to psychoanalyze me or something?"

John nodded. "I could. And pretty easily at that."

After all, even without knowing proper psychology, John could do some literal soul-searching and pull out the inner demons before beating them to death and resolving any issues.

But he'd rather not do that if he didn't have to. It was fairly difficult to explain to a non-cultivator, after all.

John adjusted his glasses and said, "But no. You can think of this as just general life and career planning."

Asako tensed and hesitantly said, "...This doesn't have to do with me dating Alphy, does it?"

John blinked.

Asako's face turned a bright red. "I-I mean... Um..." She tried laughing it off and said, "I mean the crazy stuff that happened in the VR game! Ahahaha..."

John didn't know whether to laugh along with Asako or sigh. In the end, he decided to ignore it by pulling out his tablet and pretending to skim through his notes. "So, how are you liking things so far being a VTuber, Asako?"

Asako visibly relaxed after John changed the subject. Uncrossing her arms, she hummed a bit and said, "I like it. Much less stressful than my old gig. It's still a bit annoying with all the Ki-sama, but it's pretty fun. Not to mention that having those three stooges around to help makes things a lot easier for me."

John smiled and said, "I bet it does. They're dorks, but they're all pretty competent when it comes to doing the actual job."

Asako nodded, but then she froze and said, "Uh. You aren't going to tell them that, are you?"

John chuckled and said, "Don't worry. I won't tell them that their queen is a real-life tsundere as well."

Asako clicked her tongue and said, "I'm not a tsundere. I just... find it hard to open up to people, okay?"

"Uh-huh." John nodded and said, "And you resort to violence and harsh words to cover up your embarrassment."

Asako immediately jumped to her feet and jabbed a finger at John. "I do-" She paused, realizing what she was doing. After that, she coughed and sat back down, her face a deep red.

John smiled.

It'd be fun to tease her a bit more, but he figured that Alphy probably did it enough.

The apple didn't fall too far from the tree, after all, and John had noticed that his older daughters had picked up his habits dealing with women, so...

Moving on.

John made a show of scrolling through his tablet again and said, "Have you thought about what you want to do after this, Asako?"

Asako blinked and said, "Huh? After?" She frowned and said, "...Are you planning to shut Project MirAIs down?"

"Of course not. But do you want to do it for the rest of your life?" John looked up at Asako and said, "It's not a problem if you do, but I want to know if you've thought about doing other things as well."

Asako paused to think about it.

John simply waited, idly sipping on his coffee-

Ah.

He reached under his table and pulled out a cola soda before handing it over to Asako.

Asako blinked and took it, nodding her head. After cracking the soda open, she took a sip and said, "...Not really." She mumbled and said, "To be honest... Since that bastard is dead, I don't really have anything to live for."

"Aaand that's a red flag." John scribbled down some nonsense on his tablet.

Asako clicked her tongue and said, "Can you be serious about this?"

John looked up and said, "I am being serious. The number of people I've met in my lifetime who said that to me and ended up either dead in a ditch, mad with power, or insane from boredom could pile up higher than Mount Olympus."

Asako blinked and said, "Don't you mean Mount Everest?"

"Sure, let's go with that."

Asako blinked again and then scowled. "You, Betty, and Alphy... Why do you always try to change the mood with jokes?"

"Because a mortal life is typically too short to take seriously?"

Asako rolled her eyes. "Anyway... I was just stating my situation." She frowned and said, "Since you pulled that stunt and got rid of both that bastard and the yakuza, I lost everything I knew. I mean, I'm grateful that you gave me this job, that the Ki-sama listen to someone boring like me, and that I have Sakura nee-chan and Sis to spend time with, but..." She waved her hands around, as if trying to physically sort out her thoughts.

After a bit, Asako sighed and said, "I just don't know yet though." She pursed her lips and said, "It's complicated, okay?"

"Mm..." John nodded and said, "I understand."

Asako glared at John and said, "Do you?"

John chuckled and waved at his face. "I might look like this because I've kept good care of my body, but I'm much older than I look, you know? Much, much older."

Asako paused and said, "Right. I keep forgetting that." She gave John a sidelong glance and said, "...You aren't from the secret dark society of immortals secretly ruling the world from the shadows, are you?"

John laughed and said, "That doesn't exist in this world, Asako. But anyway." He put on a serious expression and said, "When I was around your age, I didn't know what to do either." He slowly spun his chair and stared out the window. "My genius older brother had suddenly vanished when I was starting high school, and I was suddenly forced to fill his shoes as a replacement. But everything I did couldn't match up."

Asako blinked. "You have an older brother?"

"Had." John sighed and said, "I don't know where the guy went." He frowned and said, "...He was never really the same after his best friend committed suicide. Maybe he got fed up with the world and followed after her? Thought he could defy time or bring back the dead and left on a trip to do that? I don't know. But anyway."

John clapped his hands and said, "The point is that it's fine to take some time to think. But at the same time, it's important to get closure."

Asako frowned. "What do you mean, 'closure?'"

"Life is a continuous story with different chapters. And in order to start the next one, you have to close out the last. So..." John sipped on his coffee and said, "If you're feeling lost, how about taking a trip to see your mother?"

John set his cup of coffee off to the side and said, "I'd recommend you at least visit your father's grave to curse him out as well, but it's probably a bit too soon for that. From personal experience though, it'd help a lot. At least, it's a chance I wish I had."

Asako frowned and said, "A chance you wish you had? Aren't you like the richest man in the world? What's stopping you from visiting your parents or their graves?"

John let out a thin smile and said, "It's hard to visit a place that doesn't exist in this world, Asako."

Asako's eyes widened in realization before she looked away. "A-Ah. I see..." She trailed off and then sipped on her cola to avoid an awkward silence.

John didn't know what Asako had realized, but it seemed like things worked out. With this much, Asako should be good to sort things out and get back to a healthy state of mind... at least for the time being.

Now, it wasn't good to dwell too much on heavy stuff, so...

John picked up his cup of coffee again and said, "Should I start arranging the wedding for you and my daughter?"

"Pft?!" Asako coughed and spluttered her soda. "W-W-Wedding?! What? Me? Who?"

John nodded and made a show of writing on his tablet. "Shows sign of commitment issues..."

"I do NOT have commitment issues!"

"Potential repressed anger issues..."

"JOHN!"

"...Likely daddy issues as well..."

"ARGH!"